Just Another Castaway
by Stahlfan125
Summary: 79 chapters of BooneOC. It pretty much speaks for itself.
1. Prologue

This is the prologue to my new story, about an added character on Lost Island. It's short, because this is just establishing character and getting over the plane crash. The next chapters will be A LOT longer. I'm on pilot part 2, and it's 14 pages so far (don't worry. I'll break it up!)

So, please review. I love reviews A LOT.

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**Prologue: **The Crash

She opened her eyes.

She looked at the sun, eyes watering, but surprisingly unflinching.

She heard the screams all around her, but didn't react.

He was dead. Gone.

Nothing else mattered.

She sat up. The chaos was surreal, almost like a child's nightmare as chunks of flaming metal seemingly fell from the sky. A small explosion rippled through the air, barely noticeable amongst the screams and shouts for help. People ran through smoke and flames; seemingly hundreds of people running, but going nowhere in their confusion.

She wanted to help. He never would have let her help. He would have told her that there was no point in sticking her neck out and getting killed. But she knew different. And he wasn't there to stop her.

Her brown hair spun around her face in the wind. She pulled an elastic off her wrist. There were many of them there, rather than bracelets. She looked around her, looking for someone to help as she pulled her hair into a messy bun, preparing and steeling herself for what was to come.

She staggered towards the wreckage, shielding her face from the waves of heat that were coming from the flaming metal. They were all screaming for help, and she could save every one of them there. He couldn't stop her. No one could.

"Excuse me!" someone yelled, and a strong hand grabbed her arm. She turned to face the voice and saw a man in a suit standing behind her, breathing heavily and looking around with an expression that conveyed the same feelings that she was experiencing. The need to help. The need to save them. "That man over there; can you help get him away from this?"

The man in the suit pointed, and she saw another man lying on the ground, eyes open and staring at the sky. His leg was twisted at an odd angle; indicating why he needed help.

"Yeah," she said simply.

"Thank you," the man in the suit said, and he raced off towards a man who was trapped under part of the airplane.

She ran towards the man with the hurt leg. Looking down on him; she noticed that she was going to need help moving him. He was not a small guy.

"Hey!" she yelled to another, youngish man who had just wandered over into her earshot. He looked around as if thinking she might be talking to someone else. "You. Please, can you help me?"

The man looked to be a little bit older than her, with highlighted blonde hair. He was walking with an uneasy, hesitant gait, as if still not completely sure that she had been talking to him when she had made the plea for help.

"Me?" he asked in a strong British accent.

"Yeah," she replied, trying to keep her frustration out of her voice. "Please?"

He nodded, and then bent down to grab the man's legs. Together, they lifted him into the air, grunting with the strain.

"Where we takin' him?" yelled the British man over the noise. She pointed to an area of clear sand where several wounded survivors were conjugating. The British man nodded and wordlessly tightened his grip, lifting the other man higher into the air.

It soon became clear that they were going to take a lot longer than they thought they were. The man's weight was wearing on both of them, and they had their own injuries that were making them slow and sluggish. Fortunately, someone spotted them and rushed over.

"Need some help?" he yelled over the noise.

"Yeah!" she replied.

"All right!" he shouted back, and he managed to give her a small smile.

He was a younger man than the other. He looked to be about the same age as her; give or take a few years. He was wearing a button down blue shirt, and had several pens clutched in one hand. He wordlessly grabbed the man around the middle and helped them haul him off to the side. With him helping, they went a lot faster than they would have without him.

"Thank you," she remarked to him as they gently lowered the wounded man, who was panting heavily as if _he _had just been the one who was hauling someone across an open stretch of beach filled with flaming airplane bits and panicked survivors.

"No problem," both men replied, and she smiled at them before looking back at the chaos. Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the air as wing from the plane crashed into the ground. She shielded her face and fell back next to the British man, who hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

"Did you see that?" he asked with a gasp. No one replied. She just lay there, eyes open, staring up at the sky. And, finally, she allowed herself to cry.

Her name was Scarlett Meyers, and she was twenty-one years old.


	2. Pilot 1 Part 1

Okay, yeah, that took a while, but I hope I'll be faster in the future at getting chapters up. There promises to be a lot of this story. I'm going to follow every episode pretty closely, or I'm going to try to. There's going to be a lot of the original dialogue in there, but I think that helps with people picturing things.

I hope everyone likes it. Thanks to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it!

And, because I like to get to know my reviewers, where are you all from? I live in Norton Massachusetts in the US. If anyone else lived here, I would be so excited!

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**Chapter 1: **Pilot Part 1 (1) Stranded

"Hey."

Scarlett looked up as the British man sat down next to her, tossing her a fairly amiable smile considering the situation they were in.

"Hey," Scarlett replied. She was sitting on a log near the forest in the sand, looking out at the people and the waves. She liked to watch people. She didn't know why, but it had always been a fascination with her.

"What's your name?" asked the British man suddenly, seemingly out of the blue. Scarlett turned to him and smiled.

"I'm Scarlett," she replied, sticking out her hand. The British man grasped it, and Scarlett noticed with a smile that his fingernails were painted black. "Scarlett Meyers. And you?"

"Charlie Pace," replied the other with a grand smile.

"Thanks for the help earlier, Charlie," Scarlett said.

"Hey, no problem," Charlie said with a smile. "So…uh…you doin' okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm doing fine," Scarlett said with a smile, looking out at an elderly man who was sitting by the ocean, looking out at the waves serenely. "You?"

"Better, now," Charlie replied. "Kind of in shock still, I guess. Hasn't really, you know, sunk in yet at all."

"Me too," Scarlett replied. "I'm sure tonight I'll wake up and start screaming."

Charlie laughed.

"I wouldn't put it past myself to do the exact same thing," he replied, almost comfortingly. Scarlett smiled again. "Well, uh…I'd better go. There's a fellow over there. Wants me to help him build a fire. Just thought I'd, you know, stop by and see how you were doing."

"Thanks, Charlie," Scarlett replied with a smile. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Charlie replied, and he walked off towards the fire that was already burning, his shoulders hunched and his hands shoved into the pockets of his black sweatshirt. Scarlett watched him go with a small smile on her face. He seemed like a sweet guy.

"Scarlett?"

Scarlett turned to face the voice, surprised to hear someone saying her name. When she saw who it was, however, her face lit up.

"Claire!" she exclaimed, getting up and hugging the pregnant girl lightly. "Oh wow, I'm so glad you made it!"

Claire smiled and sat down on the sand beside the log, stretching her legs out with a content sigh.

"Me too," she said after a moment. "Glad you made it, I mean. I got really scared, you know, thinking…thinking that there would be no one here who knew my name."

Claire turned and smiled at her, and Scarlett smiled in return; suddenly and inexplicably sad.

* * *

_"Excuse me?"_

_Scarlett's eyes flew open, and she turned to face the person who had spoken, disoriented and confused. The woman who had spoken was young with long, wavy blonde hair and a sweet smile. Scarlett noticed that she was pregnant. _Very _pregnant._

_"Hi," Scarlett said, standing up to let the other woman by. _

_"Thanks," the woman said. "I had to go to the bathroom. You know, a pregnant thing."_

_"I see," said Scarlett with a laugh._

_The woman laughed as well and stuck out her hand confidently. _

_"I'm Claire," she said proudly. "Littleton."_

_"Scarlett Meyers," Scarlett replied. _

_"So…why are you going to LA?" Claire asked; a flawless conversation starter if there ever was one. _

_"I live there," Scarlett replied, a smile plastered on her face. _

_"Oh!" Claire exclaimed. "LA seems like an amazing place to live."_

_"It is," Scarlett replied. "Why are you going there?"_

_"I'm giving the baby up for adoption," Claire replied, rubbing her stomach and looking down at it with a smile._

_"In LA?" Scarlett asked. "Aren't there willing couples in Australia?"_

_"It's a long story," Claire replied. "A…really long story, actually. I'm not even sure if _I _understand it. Basically, I've been told that these people are nice, good people, and they'll raise my baby the way I want them too."_

_"That's nice," Scarlett said, still slightly confused, but deciding not to press the matter any. "I hope everything goes well."_

_"Thanks," Claire said. "This whole thing has just been very stressful for me."_

_"I can imagine," Scarlett replied sympathetically. _

_"The father left me," Claire said with a sigh, and Scarlett had a feeling that she was probably the first total stranger that Claire had told this to. "He, Thomas, was the one who wanted the baby in the first place. My mother disowned me, and I didn't, you know, want to raise the baby by myself."_

_"I understand," Scarlett replied sympathetically. Claire nodded and smiled._

_"That felt good," she said with a sigh. "Talking about it. I don't usually talk about things…but I think that helped."_

_Scarlett smiled and shifted in her seat, turning to look where she could just barely see the bathrooms. There was no sign of Anthony. She didn't care where he was. As long as he wasn't with her, she was perfectly fine._

_"How are you doing?" Scarlett asked. "I mean…I don't know much about babies, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to fly when you're this…due."_

_"Yeah," Claire said with a shrug. "You're really not, but…"_

_Suddenly the plane gave a violent lurch…

* * *

_

It was getting dark. Claire got up to go find a blanket and to get something to eat. Scarlett decided to walk around for a bit to see if she could help with anything. As she was walking, she spotted a large man with messy brown hair piling up food containers. She sashayed over to help.

"Hello," she said cheerily, as if she was approaching the counter of a diner back home.

"Hey," the man said with a small, unsure smile.

"You want me to help you pass those out?" Scarlett asked. The man nodded.

"Sure," he said. "Thanks."

"No problem," Scarlett said, and she started walking off to distribute them. She handed a bit to a couple that was talking in low whispers in a language she didn't understand. They both just looked up at her blankly. Then, the woman smiled and nodded her head in thanks, but the man just turned back to whatever they had been talking about before. Scarlett rolled her eyes slightly and moved on to the next couple, who thanked her vociferously. She spotted a handsome man sitting by himself with feathery blonde hair, a sullen frown on his face as he stared at a piece of paper in front of him.

"Excuse me," Scarlett said as she approached. The man hurriedly folded the letter. "Um…I'm handing out food. Do you want some?"

The man looked like he was going to retort angrily until he looked up and got a good look at her.

"Well, well, well," he said in a soft southern accent, arching an eyebrow and blatantly checking her out. "And who might you be?"

"Scarlett," said Scarlett with a wry smile, shaking her head slightly at the man's lack of tact. "And you?"

"Sawyer," replied the man. Scarlett stuck out her hand. Sawyer regarded it warily for a moment before reaching out and grasping it.

"Nice to meet you, Sawyer," Scarlett said. "Food?"

"Ah, hell, give it to someone who needs it," Sawyer said, waving his hand absently. Scarlett smiled.

"Okay," she said, as if he was turning down the deal of a lifetime. "You sure?"

"Completely positive," Sawyer replied.

"You wouldn't be willing to help, would you?" Scarlett asked, putting just a touch of hopefulness in her voice.

"No chance in Hell," said Sawyer with a laugh. Scarlett shrugged with another laugh.

"Just thought I'd ask," she said pointedly. Sawyer smiled at her, and Scarlett walked off to give some more people food. She heard Sawyer whistle under his breath as she walked off, and she turned to look over her shoulder at him with a seductive grin before moving out of his line of sight by stepping behind a fairly large group of people that was grouped around a small but growing fire. Scarlett spotted Charlie and patted him on the shoulder with a smile before she moved off to a father and son that were sitting near another fire.

"Hi," she said to the father. The son appeared to be sleeping. "Food?"

"Sure," the father said. "One for him too, please."

"Of course," Scarlett replied. "I'm Scarlett."

She reached her hand out to the man, and he took it with a gracious smile.

"Michael," he said. "And…uh…this is Walt."

"So young," Scarlett said sadly. "How's he doing?"

"I don't know," Michael replied. "He's not talking to me."

Scarlett frowned sadly and put her hand on Michael's shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm sure it's just the shock or…something," she said gently. Michael gave a sad laugh.

"Maybe," he said, but Scarlett could tell that he was just saying that to be nice. There was something else there; beneath the surface that Michael didn't want to talk about. And he wasn't the only one. Scarlett was perfectly all right with having a few secrets herself.

"Well, I hope he feels better," Scarlett said with a smile. Michael nodded thankfully.

"Thanks," he said. "Oh, and for the food, too."

"No problem," Scarlett replied, and she moved off to a small group of three people.

Scarlett moved on to feed several other people, all who were much less open and talkative than Sawyer or Michael. Then, she spotted the man who had helped her move the wounded guy earlier. She sidled up to him as he was bargaining with someone for a chocolate bar.

"Hey," she said with a smile. He turned and looked at her, and obviously remembered her, because he smiled and turned to face her completely, the chocolate bar forgotten.

"Hey," he said in reply.

"I'm handing out food if you want it," she said, holding out one of her last two trays.

"Oh! Thanks!" the man exclaimed happily. "Uh…could I have two, if that's all right? My sister…"

"Sure," Scarlett said, handing over the last tray. "Here."

"Thanks," the man replied with a grin. "I'm Boone, by the way."

"Scarlett," Scarlett replied. Boone smiled and nodded and then moved off to where a blonde girl who looked about the same age as he was painting her toe nails.

"Scarlett!"

Claire was sitting on a piece of metal, holding two food trays piled on top of each other. She patted the metal next to her gently.

"Hey, Claire," Scarlett said, sitting next to her. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," Claire said with a small smile. "I'm doing pretty good, considering."

"That's good," Scarlett said. Claire noticed the relief in her voice and smiled appreciatively.

"So how are you doing?" Claire asked. Scarlett smiled.

"I'm doing better than I could have hoped," she said with a laugh. Claire smiled, but there wasn't a whole lot of feeling in it, and then she grew serious, looking down at the sand and finally looking up to meet Scarlett's eye.

"I…I know this is a personal question," she said quietly. "But I noticed a guy with you on the plane. You two seemed to know each other…and I haven't seen him yet after…you know, what happened…?" she trailed off and Scarlett put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry about that," she said seriously. "As gruesome as it might sound, I'm glad he's gone."

"Why?" Claire asked with a gasp. "He's gone? You mean he died? Who was he? Why?"

"He was my brother," Scarlett said, looking down at the sand, her hands clasped together. "We…uh…didn't have the best relationship."

She looked up at Claire and grinned hopefully. Claire put a hand on Scarlett's shoulder in return.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Scarlett said. "He's gone, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah," Claire said softly, and she graciously held out one of the trays of food for Scarlett.

"Oh, no, don't give me some food, Claire," Scarlett said with a smile. "Don't worry about it. You need all the…nourishment, I guess, that you can get."

"So do you," Claire said pointedly.

"_I'm _not pregnant," Scarlett said with a laugh.

"Point taken," said Claire, narrowing her eyes and pointing her finger in Scarlett's face. "But eat." She tried to shove the food into Scarlett's hands once again, but Scarlett refused to take it.

"Nope," she said, holding her hands up to avoid Claire's persistence. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat when we're rescued."

Claire sighed.

"Scarlett!" she exclaimed. "You're making me feel like a pig!"

"You're not a pig," Scarlett said reassuringly. "It's the little one who's a pig."

Claire giggled and patted her stomach proudly.

"In a really weird way, that's comforting," she said with a grin. Scarlett laughed as well and started to say something, but suddenly there was a loud rumbling, and then a roaring noise from behind them, in the forest.

Everyone around them froze. Scarlett stood up, and after a few tries, Claire stood up as well, clutching her stomach.

"Did anybody see that?" she asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said numbly. She moved around a few people to better look, and stood beside a black woman wearing a pink shirt.

"That sounds familiar…" the woman muttered to herself. Scarlett turned to find Claire and found that Sawyer was standing right behind her, staring at the trees fixedly, eyes narrowed. The trees were bending and folding as something passed through them, and an almost metallic noise echoed through the air.

"What is it?" someone asked.

"Look at the trees!" someone else exclaimed.

"It sounds familiar," the woman in pink said again.

"Whatever it is, it's leaving," Sawyer remarked, directing the comment towards Scarlett. She turned and seemed surprised to see his eyes on her, and she nodded hastily.

"Good," she said uneasily. "But what if it comes back?"

She risked a glance back towards the trees as if afraid that her words would come true because she said something. Fortunately, whatever it was kept moving in the other direction.

"Terrific," Charlie said sarcastically, and Scarlett had to agree that that was exactly what she had been thinking.

* * *

A few minutes later, after everyone had calmed down and were sitting back around individual fires, Charlie called Scarlett up to where he was sitting with three other people. One, Scarlett recognized as the man who had been in the suit earlier. He obviously remembered her too.

"Oh, hey, thanks for the help earlier," he said with a smile.

"No problem," Scarlett replied as she took a seat next to Charlie.

"I'm Jack," the man said.

"Scarlett," Scarlett said. The brown haired woman next to Jack gave Scarlett a friendly smile.

"I'm Kate," she said. The man on the other side of Scarlett, a middle-eastern man with long, curly black hair, introduced himself as Sayid.

"Nice to meet you all," Scarlett said politely.

"Okay, so here's what we were talking about," Jack said. "Did you notice _anything _that might help us determine what that thing was?"

"It sounded like a machine to me," Scarlett said. "Um…I didn't really notice any details or anything. I was kinda, you know, focused on being terrified."

"I can relate with you there," Charlie said sadly. Scarlett glanced over at him and saw that he was looking into the fire with a haunted expression. She started to say something to him, but Jack wasn't finished.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Anything at all."

"It did sound familiar," Scarlett said. "Some woman kept saying that it sounded familiar, and it did, now that I think about it. I just can't place it though."

"I felt the same," Kate said, speaking up for the first time since introducing herself to Scarlett.

"What if it is a machine?" Sayid asked. "There would be the possibility of someone else living here. There _is _a possibility. Perhaps they have a way to communicate with the outside world."

"I think they might have noticed if an airplane crashed onto their front lawn," Charlie said, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Maybe they did," Sayid said. "Maybe they haven't got here yet."

"That's a stretch, Sayid," Jack said kindly. "Let's just hope that the rescue team gets here soon."

"Amen to that," Charlie said, rolling his eyes.

"Scarlett, I saw you talking with the pregnant girl earlier," Jack said.

"Claire. Yes," Scarlett replied.

"Is she doing okay?" Jack asked. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "She seems to be doing remarkably well."

"Good," Jack said with a sigh of relief. "How do you know her? Are you two sisters?"

"No, no," Scarlett said with a smile. "She was sitting next to me on the plane."

Jack nodded in understanding.

"If you notice anything. Any changes, anything, relating to her pregnancy, then don't hesitate to tell me about it," he said.

"Okay," Scarlett said.

"I think our main concern is what is out there," Sayid said gently.

"Well, right now there doesn't seem to be a whole lot that we cando," Kate reminded him.

"Unless you want to go looking for it," Charlie said with a shrug. Sayid shot him an annoyed look.

"All I'm saying is that I don't feel comfortable knowing that there's something that big out there!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure no one here is really _comfortable _with it," Scarlett pointed out. "But no one wants to go into the trees and find out exactly what it is! In any case, it's gone for now. Let's just hope it doesn't come back."

"And if it does?" Sayid asked pointedly.

"Then we'd better hope it's friendly," Charlie replied.

"Hey."

Scarlett took a seat next to Claire, who was still sitting on the curved piece of metal from before.

"Hey," Claire replied, smiling. She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Did anyone know what that thing was?"

"No," Scarlett said. "I think everyone's too afraid, really, to guess what it is. But, hey, it's gone, right? That's good."

"Yeah," Claire said. "I dunno. I just don't like it out there, you know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Me neither. But it still would be good to sleep now anyways."

"Sleep where?" Claire asked. "On the ground?"

"I guess," Scarlett replied. "There doesn't really seem to be anywhere else."

"Ugh. This has _not _been my day. Or, for that matter, my _year_," Claire said with a laugh.

"Well, look on the bright side. At least you're alive."

"That's true," Claire replied. "I am. And thankful for it, too."

"As am I," Scarlett said. "Come on. Let's go to sleep. I'm sure the rescue boats will be here by tomorrow."

"I sure hope so," Claire replied as she started setting up her makeshift bed with some blankets. "You're staying here, right?"

"Well, there's no one else here who I consider myself friendly with," Scarlett said with a laugh. "Of course I'm staying here."

"I'm glad," Claire replied. "Because I definitely feel the same way."


	3. Pilot 1 Part 2

Okay, so here's the next part of my story. Thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all so much!

It seems like a lot of people want Boone and Scarlett to hook up, lol. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. And we shall see. Yes. Yes we shall. I've had it picked from the beginning (before I even started actually writing the story) who Scarlett would hook up with. So we'll see…

Please remember to review! I love reviews times ten!

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**Pilot Part 1 (2):** That Thing in the Woods

It was the next morning, and Scarlett was sitting with Charlie, Boone, Sawyer, Sayid, Michael, Walt, Boone's sister (Shannon), the woman in pink from the night before (Rose) and the man who had been passing out the food the night before (Hurley). Claire had acquired an airplane seat, and was sitting in it near the water, writing in her journal. Before she had left for her little refuge, she had said to Scarlett 'there are two airplane seats there. So you can join me, you know, whenever. I'm going to look for a boat."

A lot of people were looking for boats, airplanes, and anything else that might be able to rescue them. Sayid had started a signal fire, which someone kept watch over for twenty-four hours, making sure that it didn't go out.

But the group that Scarlett was in was more determined to find out exactly what was going on with that thing they had seen. Some people had dismissed it as the wind, or something equally silly and impossible, but most people were crying out for an explanation. They wanted to know what it was, if it was dangerous, how big it was…everything. And since no one really wanted to go into the woods and hunt that thing down, the only thing they could do was speculate.

"It sounded like an animal, but not exactly," Michael said thoughtfully.

"That sound it made," Rose said, looking around at all of them as if looking for their approval to speak. "I kept thinking that there was something really familiar about it."

"Really?" asked Shannon. "Where are you from?"

"The Bronx," replied Rose.

"Might be monkeys," Charlie put in before anyone could reply to that.

"Sure, it's monkeys," Sawyer said sarcastically. "It's monkey island…"

"Well, theoretically, we don't even know if we're on an island," Scarlett put in. "Let alone a deserted one." She gestured to Sayid with her head. "Sayid mentioned last night that maybe people live here."

Rose excused herself with a short goodbye, and started walking down the shoreline.

"Wouldn't they have noticed us?" Boone asked.

"Yeah, it's not every day that you have a plane crash on your island paradise," Michael remarked. "You think they'd at least want us to leave."

"Well, what about that thing?" Hurley asked. "I mean…dudes, there's something out there. And it didn't sound too pleasant. It sounded…hungry."

"It did _not_ sound _hungry_," Shannon said, rolling her eyes. As confident as she was trying to sound, it was obvious that she was slightly uneasy.

"That's easy for you to say," Hurley retorted. "You weigh like…two pounds. I'm a big guy. It's gonna wanna eat me for breakfast. Or lunch. Or even a romantic dinner with its freaking monster wife!" Everyone stared at him, so he continued. "Look, all I'm saying is that we don't know what's out there, and it probably eats like… us, so I think we really should find out what it is as soon as possible before people start freaking out about it. 'Cus you know that when people freak out about it, then it's gonna come back."

"Why?" Walt asked, tilting his head to one side in confusion.

"Because that's the way it always works in movies!" Hurley exclaimed.

"Well, this isn't a movie," Sayid reminded him.

"It might as well be," Hurley mumbled in reply.

"Well, it would be a shit movie, because sometime today, maybe tomorrow morning at the latest, we're all gonna be rescued, and we're gonna go home to our separate lives and be forever terrified of flying," Sawyer said dryly before standing and walking away, pulling out a cigarette. Someone called Hurley from over near the airplane, and he shuffled off in that direction after tossing a 'Be right back' at the group.

"Well, what is there that we can do?" Scarlett asked, ignoring Sawyer and Hurley's departures. "Nobody's going to volunteer to go in the woods and look for it! I sure as hell wouldn't! All we have is information on what we saw last night, and we didn't see much. I mean…really, all we can do is sit here and speculate, and that's obviously not getting us too far!"

"Well, whatever it was, it wasn't natural," Michael said, gesturing towards Scarlett.

"Does anybody have sunblock?" Charlie asked. As Michael and Sayid glanced at him in surprise, eyebrows raised at the randomness of Charlie's question, Shannon smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "I do."

She produced a bottle of sunscreen from a little bag she had next to her, and proudly handed it to Charlie.

"Oh, cool," Charlie said, just as Hurley reappeared and sat back down.

"So…uh…" he began, looking nervous. "I was just looking around in the fuselage. It's pretty grim in there." He paused, looking around at everyone for effect. "Do you think we should do something about the uh…" He glanced at Walt, didn't seem to be paying attention. He was just sifting the sand through his fingers, seeming mesmerized by it. "B-O-D-Y-S?"

Scarlett hid a giggle in her hand and caught Sayid smiling too, ducking his head to hide his laughter.

"What are you spelling man, 'bodies'?" Michael asked. Walt looked up.

"B-O-D-I-E-S," he offered with a smile. Hurley sighed.

"That sounds like a good idea," Sayid said kindly.

"No," Shannon said firmly. "They'll deal with it when they get here."

Scarlett opened her mouth to say something, but then Jack appeared, looking very serious. She closed her mouth slowly.

"I'm gonna go out and look for the cockpit. See if we can find a transceiver to send a distress signal, help the rescue team." He turned to Boone. "'You're gonna need to keep an eye on the wounded. If the guy in the suit wakes up, try to keep him calm, but don't let him remove that piece of shrapnel. You understand?"

Scarlett winced slightly. She hated it when people said 'you understand' at the end of a sentence. Jack sounded like he was talking to a child. Or an idiot. And, though she hadn't known Boone for very long, he certainly seemed smart enough to understand at least that amount of direction.

But it obviously didn't anger Boone. He just nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "Got it. What about the guy with the leg? The tourniquet?"

"I stopped the bleeding," Jack said, with just a touch of smugness. "I took it off last night. He should be all right."

"Yeah. Cool. Good job," Boone said, sounding almost let down that he didn't have to watch over the tourniquet guy.

Suddenly, Charlie stood up, facing Jack sternly.

"I'll come with," he said in a tone that clearly said he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. "I want to help."

"Nah," Jack said, shaking his head slightly. "I don't need any more help."

Scarlett rolled her eyes and happened to catch Shannon's eye. Shannon smiled and rolled her eyes as well. It seemed that the two young girls were the only ones who saw the _real _reason that Jack didn't want Charlie along. He wanted some alone time with Kate who, Scarlett knew from an earlier conversation with her, was also going on the little expedition. Scarlett, though a born romantic, was glad that Charlie was going to break up the happy couple. That way, they would all be more focused on their work.

"No, it's cool," Charlie said, pushing forward. "I don't really feel like standing still, so…" He trailed off and looked at Jack expectantly. Jack sighed and nodded as if it were the hardest thing he had ever done. Charlie smiled. "Excellent,"

Charlie and Jack moved off, and everyone else turned back to their talking. But Scarlett was bored of the talk of the thing in the woods, so she stood up to go look for Sawyer. She had seen Claire earlier taking a nap in her airplane chair, and she didn't want to disturb her. Sawyer was the first person that popped into Scarlett's mind.

She spotted him sitting on a bit of metal, reading that letter again. She stuck a smile on her face and sauntered up.

"Hey Sawyer," she said. "Why'd you leave?"

"I've got better things to do than sit there and talk about some damn jungle fiend," Sawyer said with an easy smile, tucking the letter away. "Why'd you leave?"

"I got bored," Scarlett said truthfully. "You mind of I join you?"

"By all means," Sawyer said gesturing to the open space next to him. Scarlett was surprised to notice that there wasn't any sarcasm in his voice.

"Thanks," Scarlett said. She took a seat next to him, then faced him and regarded him curiously. "I haven't seen you eating anything. You want something? Because, you know, me and Hurley are in charge of the food, so I could get you something."

"Naw," Sawyer said. "I'm fine. I was eating on the plane."

"But it's been almost a whole day," Scarlett said incredulously. "You should be feeling at least a little bit of hunger by now!"

"I haven't seen you eating either," Sawyer pointed out.

"Then you haven't been watching me carefully enough," Scarlett retorted.

"Ah, so you're saying you've been watching _me _carefully enough to say I haven't been eating?"

"No. I'm saying that I know men like you. Men like you are stubborn. When they're asked to eat, you can't get them to eat no matter what. But if you tell them _not _to eat, then they'll eat all the food in the house. At least, that's what my brother was like. You remind me of him actually. Only…you're nicer."

"I don't think I ever been told that I was nicer'n somebody," Sawyer said with a lazy laugh, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, my brother wasn't very nice," Scarlett replied. Sawyer looked at her with a frown on his face. Scarlett was frightened at how haunted his expression was.

"Yeah, well, some people are graced with lives of candy and peaches. Others have to work at it."

"Amen," Scarlett said, and then she stood up. "I'm gonna go see if I can't help people out with something.

"What's the point?" Sawyer asked, shrugging. "In a few hours, this is all just gonna be a bad dream, and no one's gonna remember you anyway. So why help out?"

"Because I like to," Scarlet retorted somewhat coldly, and then she turned around and walked back towards the fuselage. Sawyer shook his head.

"Women," he muttered under his breath. "One minute they adore you, and the next, they hate you, all because of one stupid comment."

Scarlett smiled, but she kept walking. When she was a few feet away, she raised her hand over her shoulder and flipped him off. The last thing she heard from Sawyer was a short bark of a laugh, and he muttered something under his breath before finally falling silent. She had a feeling that he was pulling the letter out of his pocket.

* * *

"Hey, you need any help?" Scarlett asked someone who seemed to be looking for someone. The man shook his head.

"No," he said. "I was just…looking for something. It's okay. You don't have to help."

Scarlett shrugged and looked around for someone else to talk to. But there was no one really doing anything. Everyone was kind of sitting around and relaxing. Waiting for the rescue boats. Scarlett found an empty airplane seat and curled up in it. Since there was nothing else to do, she sat and watched the ocean. She noticed clouds forming, and thunder rumbled in the distance. She wrinkled her nose and looked around. There wasn't much shelter anywhere, and she definitely didn't want to be caught in the rain. Still, she decided to wait until it actually started raining before she would move, because the seat was too damn comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that she didn't even realize her eyes were slowly slipping closed.

* * *

_He was standing in front of her, smiling at her like he always used to do when he wanted something. She backed away uneasily, but he just walked towards her, reaching out his arms._

"_Get away from me!" she shouted, but he kept moving, not listening to her. He never listened to her. "Stop! Stop!"_

_She ran from him, into the jungle, where she could hear that thing from the night before moving. It was moving away from her, though. Running from _her._ But he was still behind her. She couldn't stop. Even though her lungs were burning and her legs were feeling shaky, she couldn't stop._

_She turned to look over her shoulder, and ran straight into someone. It was Anthony. She screamed and backed away, and dodged past him. His cold, blue fingers grabbed at her, and his blood covered her arm. _

"_You're dead!" she screamed. His appearance was testament enough to that. But he just laughed, his bones creaking disgustingly._

"_Did you ever see me die?" he asked hauntingly. She heard something rustling in the bushes behind her, and then someone burst from the foliage…

* * *

_

The first raindrop that happened to land on Scarlett landed straight on her eye. She awoke with a start, and looked around her, relieved to find herself in her airplane seat rather than in the forest. Soon, however, she wished she _were_ back in the forest as the rain started to pour down suddenly and relentlessly.

She spotted Claire and Rose under part of the airplane and hurried over to them, accepting a small hug from Claire.

"This is not normal," she muttered angrily.

"It's weird," Claire agreed.

Suddenly, the same noise from the night before could be heard, the creaking, roaring, mechanical sounds. The trees in the forest started bouncing back and forth, springing back up and never breaking as the thing walked among them.

"There it is again!" Claire exclaimed, pointing.

"Oh my God," Rose said numbly.

"What is it?" someone asked from behind them, in the small crowd that was gathered. No one answered, because no one knew.

"Is it coming towards us?" Claire asked nervously.

"I think it's moving away," Rose said. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "It is."

She didn't remind everyone that Jack and Kate and Charlie were still back there, or that it was moving right towards where they were last heading. She knew that there would be nothing that they could do. And even if there was, she knew that there were very few people who would volunteer to do it.

So she just found a seat and sat down, waiting for the rain to stop. Maybe someone else noticed where the thing was headed. If they did, she'd let them inform everyone. Until then, she just decided to wait and see what would happen.


	4. Pilot 2 Part 1

Well, I am _beyond _pissed about Wednesday's episode. I have never, _ever _cried so hard during any TV show or movie, and I've cried _many _times. But Boone…ARGH! I can't even think about it without tearing up.

There's a bit of Boone in this chapter, which is kind of ironic, actually. So…enjoy, and please review. Thanks for those of you who _did _review. I appreciate it soooo much!

* * *

**Pilot part 2 (1): **Luggage

"Howdy, Scarlett."

Scarlett turned around from where she was standing, staring at the forest. Sawyer stood about twenty feet behind her, looking at her quizzically.

"Hey," Scarlett said, folding her arms across her chest and walking towards Sawyer with a false smile. "What's up?"

"What you doing over there?" Sawyer asked.

"Waiting for the others," Scarlett said. "Jack, Kate and Charlie. They were going to look to see if they could find the cockpit, remember."

"Yeah," Sawyer said. "People are getting nervous that they're not going to make it back. They were talking about that thing in the woods and saying that it was moving towards them."

"I think it was moving the other way," Scarlett lied nervously, smiling. Sawyer frowned.

"Really?" he asked.

"Pretty sure," Scarlett replied.

"Well, that don't keep people from talking," Sawyer said with a shrug. Scarlett smiled.

"Of course it doesn't," she replied. Then, she thought of something that she wanted to ask Sawyer. Well…not Sawyer specifically, but just someone in general. "Hey, I have a question."

"And what would that be?" Sawyer asked, looking down at her with a cocky smirk that almost made Scarlett smiled.

"I'm looking for someone," she said softly. "He's got brown hair. It's short. He…uh…was wearing a purple button up shirt and jeans when we crashed. He's got blue eyes and …a big scar on his cheek."

"Other than the scar, that could be anyone," Sawyer said. Scarlett sighed and looked down at the ground, and suddenly Sawyer's tone grew unexpectedly gentle. "Look, I'll keep an eye out for him, all right?"

Scarlett smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said. "I've been looking for him, but I don't know if he's even alive."

"Well, a lot of people died," Sawyer said uncomfortably.

"I know," Scarlett muttered. "I wanted to look through the bodies, but I know he wasn't in that part of the plane when it crashed. He was in the bathroom. Or…I think he was."

"So he'd be near the cockpit," Sawyer replied, and Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I think so, anyway."

"You shoulda told Hero to look out for him."

"I know," Scarlett said with a sigh. "I'm just hoping they don't come out of the woods with him with them."

"Wait…" Sawyer said with an incredulous laugh. "You're hoping this guy _isn't _alive? Who was he?"

"My brother," Scarlett said with a sigh.

"The one I reminded you of?" Sawyer asked sarcastically. Scarlett couldn't help but smile despite her dampened mood.

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes.

"I told you," Scarlett said with a grin. "You're nicer than he is."

"Yeah, well, I don't hear that too often," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes slightly again.

"Then I'll tell you as often as I can," Scarlett replied. "How does that sound? Would it give your ego a boost?"

"Darlin', my ego doesn't need boosting," Sawyer said, but Scarlett sensed some sadness in his tone. She wondered why that was, but she didn't want to say anything.

"Every ego can use some boosting at one point or another," Scarlett replied, cocking her head to one side. "Because even if someone appears to be a pompus jackass, they usually have something hidden in them that makes them that way."

Sawyer gave Scarlett a grin that clearly said 'you beat me', and Scarlett pushed past him, walking towards where she had spotted Claire lounging on the beach, looking out to the ocean. Though Claire was sitting near Shannon, Scarlett still had an urge to talk to her. And, she thought, she wanted to get her mind of Anthony, and being around Sawyer wasn't helping.

* * *

"Hey, Claire," Scarlett said, sitting down beside her friend and smiling gently in her direction.

"Hi!" Claire replied. "I was wondering where you were."

"Looking out for Jack, Kate, and Charlie," Scarlett said with a small shrug. "They should be back soon."

"Oh, right!" Claire exclaimed. "I was wondering when they'd be back. I hope they found that thing they were looking for. The transceiver."

"I'm sure they did," Scarlett said with a grin. "Any sign of rescue yet?"

"Not yet," Claire replied. "I'm looking, though."

Scarlett noticed Shannon watching them, and tried to ignore it. She hated the feeling of being watched.

"How's the baby?" she asked, to make conversation. As soon as she said it, though, she knew that something was wrong, as a shadow passed over Claire's face and she looked down at her bulging stomach, rubbing her hand over it gently.

"I haven't felt it move since yesterday," she said quietly. Scarlett paused, trying to think of the right words to say.

"Well, I'm sure it's fine," she said gently. "We'll have Jack take a look at it when he gets back, all right?"

"Yeah," Claire said softly. "Yeah, definitely."

"Don't worry," Scarlett said, still in the gentle tone she had been using earlier. "Everything's going to be okay. We're going to get rescued, remember. Soon, most likely."

"Hopefully," Claire said wistfully, looking back out at the waves.

"We will," Scarlett said, smiling. "Everyone gets rescued eventually."

Claire gave her a weird look, but before Scarlett could enquire as to what the weird look might be from, Claire stood up.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she said softly. "Okay?"

Scarlett nodded, slightly puzzled at Claire's abrupt change in mood. Then, somewhat amusedly, she remembered that Claire was pregnant. Abrupt changes in moods were a normal thing. Claire was probably just frightened for the baby's life. Scarlett herself was worried. What would happen if the baby died? Even though Scarlett knew that Claire was going to give the baby up for adoption, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be too happy to have it die. That had to be the worst feeling in the world.

Scarlett turned and watched as Claire made her way over to where someone had set up a little area where people could do their business. Then she turned to face the ocean silently and strained her eyes, staring at a speck of black in the distance hopefully before realizing that it was just her eyes playing tricks. She gave a heavy sigh of frustration and stood up. Shannon was still watching her. Scarlett was glad to move away from that piercing, judging stare. It made her feel like she was in high school all over again.

She looked for something to do, for someone to talk to. There didn't really appear to be anybody who wasn't busy doing something. Then, she spotted Sayid and Boone kneeling by a huge pile of suitcases, methodically going through them. Her face lit up and she hurried over to them.

"Hey," she said. Sayid looked up and smiled. Boone looked up and gave her a little wave. "What are you guys doing?"

"Looking for our luggage," Boone said. "We're trying to get everyone over here to find theirs."

"Is it okay if I help?" Scarlett asked. Sayid shrugged.

"Why not?" he said. "Any help we could get will be greatly appreciated. People don't seem too willing to do work around here."

"Well, we're going to be rescued soon, aren't we?" Scarlett asked, inspecting a bag that looked somewhat like hers and then tossing it over to the side when she realized that it wasn't.

"That's why no one's helping," Sayid said with a smirk. "But it could take a while."

Scarlett's eyes widened with fear. She had thought that they were going to be rescued within the day. But if that were true, then why were they sorting bags?

"How long?" she asked.

"It depends," Sayid said. "Possibly a few days. At the most…perhaps a week."

Scarlett looked over to where she had been sitting a few moments ago. Claire wasn't there.

"A week," she mused thoughtfully, biting her lip. "God, I can't imagine being stuck here for a whole week."

"I know," Boone said with a sigh. "Everyone's going to be worried sick about us. Think about the welcome we'll get back home."

Scarlett smiled slightly, but a sudden fear struck her right in the pit of her stomach. She was going to have to go back home. Despite the crash…nothing had changed. She was still going to have to go back to Stephen and her parents. Though, she had to admit that losing Anthony was a light in the darkness, it still wasn't quite enough to save her.

"Are you all right?" Sayid asked her with a tone of concern, and Scarlett realized that she had been staring into the pile of suitcases with a very sad expression on her face.

"Yeah," she said quickly. "I was just thinking."

"In my experience, that phrase can sometimes mean 'no'," Sayid replied with a pointed look in her direction.

"Same here," Scarlett said with a half-smile. Sayid just nodded and turned back to the suitcases.

"I'm going to take a guess and say that you don't want to talk about it," he said. Scarlett glanced at him and smiled.

"Good guess," she said. Sayid nodded, and Boone looked from one of them to the other, tilting his head to one side.

"You don't have to," Sayid said. "But sometimes talking about it makes it better."

"Not in this case," Scarlett replied softly. "I've tried talking to people. It only makes it harder to go back to it."

"When you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen," Sayid said. "I have my share of secrets that I don't like to talk about."

"Thanks," Scarlett said. "It's nice to know that you care, even if I…you know, don't know you."

"Hey, I care," Boone said, eyebrows drawn up, giving him a very puppy-dog like appearance. Scarlett laughed.

"Thanks," she said, and she felt the lump that had been growing steadily in her throat start to dissolve. "Both of you."

"No problem," Boone said, and Sayid nodded and smiled. Scarlett yelped with happiness suddenly and practically dove into the pile, pulling out a large backpack.

"That yours?" Boone asked with a laugh.

"Yes!" Scarlett squealed happily, throwing it open. "Oh man, you don't know how bad I needed this thing. Now I can change! I've always hated these clothes!"

Boone looked her up and down with a shrug. She was wearing black dress pants that looked a little too big for her and hung over her feet, nearly obscuring her black and white sneakers. Her shirt was white and buttoned up, but was currently open to reveal a black tank top beneath it.

"I think you look fine," he said kindly. Sayid smiled.

"Thanks," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes slightly. "But you have no idea how uncomfortable this is. Well…I'll be back in a short second. I'll send some people over here to get their stuff, okay? And then I'll be back to look for the rest of it."

"There's more?" Boone asked.

"Boone…I'm a twenty-one year old girl traveling from Sydney to LA! Of course there's more!"

Scarlett flounced off to find somewhere private to change, leaving Boone and Sayid laughing behind her.

* * *

She found that private place a little ways down the beach, past where the man who was the male half of the non-English-speaking-couple was wading in the shallow water, over behind a large group of rocks. She decided that she had better change quickly, to avoid the risk of someone randomly walking in on her.

Putting her bag on the ground, she opened it once again and took out a neatly folded pair of jeans. She slipped off her huge black pants and put on the jeans, sighing when she realized that they were long on her too. It only made sense, since Carol had always been taller than her…

* * *

_"You're leaving?"_

_"Yes."_

_"But Scarlett…"_

_"Carol, please don't try to stop me. Because you can't. I'm leaving."_

_"But why?"_

_Scarlett froze, her hand on the doorknob, and slowly turned to face her friend. Carol had tears in her eyes, and was looking confused. Scarlett didn't blame her. She hadn't done much explaining as to where she was going, or why._

_"I can't tell you," she said softly, opening the door slowly. _

_"It's because of him, isn't it?" came Carol's cold response. Scarlett winced, and didn't turn around. "I knew it. I knew it all along, Scarlett. Why didn't you tell me? Scarlett, I'm your best friend!"_

_Scarlett whirled around, not caring that tears were rapidly making their way down her cheeks. _

_"Because I love him!" she screamed desperately. "Carol…I love him more than anything! You have to understand that!"_

_"But why?" Carol asked, her voice rising as well. "Why do you love him, Scarlett? There is nothing in there but a monster! He's not the same man!"_

_"He is!" Scarlett sobbed. "He needs time!"_

_"It's been three years and still he turns you away," Carol replied. Scarlett just continued to cry in reply. "Scarlett, you have to get away from him!"_

_"That's what I'm doing," Scarlett whispered. "I'm leaving tomorrow for Australia."_

_"Australia?" Carol asked incredulously. "Where'd you get the money?"_

_"My aunt is sending for me," Scarlett replied. "I told her that it's supposed to be secret. She's paying for everything."_

_"But Scarlett…why don't you just…you can't just…"_

_"I have to," Scarlett replied. "It's the only way. I can't turn him in, Carol. I love him. I can't do it."_

_"Why do you love him?" Carol asked, and Scarlett realized dimly that they had gone from a shouting match to barely audible pleading whispers in well under a minute. _

_"Love doesn't need a reason," Scarlett replied softly, and then she turned and sadly made her way out into the hall once more. _

_"Wait," Carol said softly. "Wait here. Let me give you something."_

_So Scarlett waited for fifteen minutes as Carol rummaged around in her bedroom and put together a bag full of clothes and things she would need. _

_"Carol, I'll be fine. My aunt will have stuff…" Scarlett said, but Carol interrupted. _

_"I might not see you for a while," she said. "I want to give you this stuff, to remember me."_

_"I have a picture," Scarlett responded dryly, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly. Carol turned and smiled for a quick moment as well._

_"Yeah, well, someone needs to take care of you," she replied gruffly, and Scarlett knew she was crying. When Carol handed her the bag, she embraced her friend."Thank you," Scarlett whispered. "I'll try to call as often as I can."_

_"Okay," Carol said, wiping her eyes and sniffling slightly. "I'm only a little taller than you. All that should fit…"_

_"I'm sure it'll be fine," Scarlett replied lightly, though really in her heart she was starting to have second thoughts about leaving…

* * *

_

Scarlett sighed and pulled on a red spaghetti strap Red Sox shirt, smiling slightly. The only thing in the bag that was actually hers. She had been wearing it when she left for Australia. The pants she had ripped irreparably eventually, but the shirt had stayed with her for an entire year. She loved that shirt.

"Well, well, well, didn't expect to find you here," said a dry voice suddenly. Scarlett whirled in surprise and turned to face Sawyer, who had just made his way around the rock formation.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, extremely glad that she had finished dressing before he had shown up.

"I was just takin' a walk and happened to come across you. What are _you _doing?"

"Getting changed," Scarlett said angrily, plopping down on the sand and pulling on a sock. Sawyer laughed and made himself comfortable on a rock.

"Aw Damn," he said. "I missed the good part."

Scarlett laughed despite herself and pulled on the next sock, then reached for her sneaker.

"Yeah well, better luck next time," she replied, looking up at him with a grin, having to squint because of the sun.

"Yeah," Sawyer said with a laugh. "Just thought I'd tell you that I haven't seen your brother." There was a pause, and then he continued. "I asked around, too," he said. "No one's seen him."

"Good," Scarlett said, pulling the laces on her shoes viciously tight. "I hope the bastard went out slow."

"Whoa!" Sawyer exclaimed, laughing and holding up a hand. "Now, let's not go that far."

"He's gone farther," Scarlett replied, refusing to look up at Sawyer as she gathered her stuff and jammed it into her bag.

"Hey, hey, hey, sweetheart, don't go gettin' all angry with me!" he exclaimed, following her as she began to stalk off back towards the rest of the survivors.

"I'm not," Scarlett said. "I'm just…angry. In general."

"Angry at the world?" Sawyer asked, and Scarlett nodded. Sawyer laughed and finally caught up with her.

"I know that feelin', Red," he said, and though he was saying it in a jovial tone, Scarlett had a feeling that there was something deeper there.

"Most people do," she said, flashing him a smile as she stepped over a rock. Then, she stopped. "Red?"

She looked at him quizzically and raised an eyebrow. Sawyer laughed and stopped moving as well.

"As in that shirt of yours," he said. "Red Sox." He shook his head and Scarlett laughed and kept moving.

"Why don't you just call me Scarlett?" she asked. "It's practically 'red' anyway."

"Well, I debated between Red and Sox," Sawyer said. "But I settled on Red."

"Sox?" she asked. Sawyer laughed.

"Yup. Sox. Just for that…I think I might call you Sox from now on."

"You know what Sawyer…knock your socks off," Scarlett said, laughing at the horribleness of her own joke.

"That was _terrible_," Sawyer laughed, and Scarlett nodded.

"I know!" she exclaimed. "It was, wasn't it?"

The two of them laughed together, and then Sawyer stopped and turned to face her.

"So, Sox, I guess I'll be seeing you, then? I've got some stuff to go through in the fuselage," he said.

"I've got to find the rest of my luggage."

Sawyer looked at the huge bag in shock.

"That's not all?"


	5. Pilot 2 Part 2

Ooookay! Here is chapter five (I think?) Enjoy and please remember to review. I loooove reviews. And thanks to those who _did _review, because you really in all seriousness made my day!

* * *

**Pilot Part 2(2): **A Trek Into the Jungle

Scarlett made her way back over to the luggage pile. Sayid was no longer there, but Boone was still working studiously.

"Hey," Scarlett said. "I've told a few people to come over here and look through it. A lot of them already have their stuff. Others have no idea where it might be. Some say they've looked trough this pile already and can't find it anywhere."

"Yeah, I'm having the same problem," Boone said with a laugh. "I think I've looked through this stuff twice."

Scarlett laughed and knelt beside the pile, which, she noticed, was a lot smaller than it had been when she had last been there.

"Is there any way to find out which ones belong to the dead faster?" she asked, but Boone shook his head.

"Not that I know of," he said. "Sayid just said to keep doing this. He had to go do something."

"Did he find his stuff?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Most of it, anyway. He kept looking for something, but he couldn't find it."

He shrugged and lugged aside a heavy suitcase. Scarlett laughed.

"That's mine!" she exclaimed. "At least…I think it's mine. Let me see."

Boone pushed the suitcase over to her, and Scarlett opened it. She smiled sadly when she saw that the picture of Carol was on top, just where she had put it. Below it was three blankets and a bunch more clothes that she had gotten from her aunt's."

"Is _that _all?" Boone asked pointedly, but he was smiling.

"Nope," Scarlett replied. "There's one more bag."

"Wow," Boone said. "Not even Shannon brought that much."

"Hey, I have a lot of stuff," Scarlett said, refraining from mentioning that a lot of Shannon's stuff was way skimpier than hers was, and so would fit in a smaller amount of bags. She had a feeling that he wouldn't appreciate that. "I was living in Australia for a year. I brought all my stuff with me."

"All of it?" Boone asked doubtfully.

"Everything that wasn't ripped or broken," Scarlett responded. Boone shook his head.

"Why were you in Australia?" he asked. Scarlett thought carefully about how to word her answer. Finally, she smiled slightly and looked up at him.

"I was getting away," she said.

"From what?" Boone asked.

"My other life," Scarlett replied.

"But you decided to go back?"

"No," Scarlett said sadly, closing her suitcase and zipping it up. "My other life found me."

Boone nodded with understanding and started to say something, but suddenly there was a shout from over down the beach a little. They both looked and saw Sawyer and Sayid swinging at each other, yelling.

The two of them exchanged a quick glance and then both stood up, running over to the fight.

"Hey, guys! Come on, man!" Michael was saying uneasily. Scarlett and Boone hurried up to him.

"What's going on?" Boone asked.

"Walt found these in the woods," Michael replied, holding up a set of handcuffs. "And that redneck went off at the Iraqi because he thinks he's the one who was wearing them."

"Not that that's stereotyping or anything," Boone said with disgust. Scarlett sighed, feeling slightly disappointed in her new friend, Sawyer. She honestly couldn't believe that he was attacking Sayid because he thought he was a terrorist.

Sawyer went down under one of Sayid's punches, and then threw sand at Sayid, tackling and dealing him a blow to the face. Boone looked at Scarlett.

"Why isn't anyone doing something?" he asked, and he started to step out into the open. Before he could do anything, however, Jack was suddenly in the middle of it, pulling Sawyer off of Sayid. Scarlett looked around for Charlie and Kate and sighed with relief when she saw them.

However, Sayid and Sawyer weren't done. As Sawyer was being pulled off of him, Sayid grabbed at his legs, and Michael had to hurry up and yank him away.

"Hey, break it up!" Jack yelled.

"Get off!" Sawyer yelled, elbowing Jack. After a stumble, Jack had grabbed him once again. When Michael pulled Sayid away, Sawyer let out a loud and none-too-happy 'son of a bitch!'

"That's it!" Michael yelled furiously. "It's over!"

"That's it!" Jack repeated.

"I'm sick of this redneck!" Sayid yelled, standing up and pulling away from Michael, but not making any move to go after Sawyer again.

"You want some more of me, boy?" Sawyer roared.

"Tell them!" Sayid demanded, pointing his finger at Sawyer from a safe distance. "Tell everyone what you told me! Tell them that I crashed the plane! Go on! Tell them that I made the plane crash!"

"If the shoe fits, buddy," Sawyer replied.

"What is going on?" Jack asked with some anger and mostly confusion. Sawyer just pulled away from Jack, and Sayid started shouting at him again.

"What is going on?" Jack asked again, this time with more force.

"Look, my kid found these in the jungle," Michael said, pulling the handcuffs out of his pocket and giving them to Jack.

"And this guy," Sawyer started, pointing at Sayid for emphasis. "Was sitting in the back row of business class the whole flight. Never got up. Hands folded underneath the blanket."

"Oh!" Sayid exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in mock shock.

"And for some reason, I'm just pointing this out, the guy next to him didn't make it."

Sayid rolled his eyes and looked towards Jack as if to say 'See? This guy's crazy.'

"Thank you so much for observing my behavior," he said sarcastically.

"You don't think I saw them pull you out of line before we boarded?" Sawyer said, raising his eyebrows pointedly. Sayid had had enough. He lunged towards Sawyer, and Michael had to block him with all his strength. Jack was having a hard time holding Sawyer back as well.

"Come on!" Sawyer yelled. "Bring it!"

"Stop!" Kate yelled suddenly. That seemed to do it for everyone. Sayid turned and walked away from Michael, his hands in the air in a universal sign of surrender. Sawyer just glared at Jack, but stopped fighting. "We found the transceiver," Kate said, earning an odd look from Jack. "But it's not working. Can anyone help?"

"Yes. I might be able to," said Sayid, nodding his head slightly. Sawyer rolled his eyes and threw up his hands.

"Unbelievable!" he exclaimed. "Oh great! Perfect! Let's trust this guy!"

"Hey," said Hurley, holding up one hand. "We're all in this together, man. Let's treat each other with a little respect."

"Shut up, lardo," Sawyer responded, and Hurley moved backward involuntarily, a 'whoa' escaping him.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed, walking over to Sawyer. "Give it a break!"

Sawyer rolled his eyes, and for once, Scarlett had to agree with him. Not about Sayid, of course, or Hurley, but about the annoyance with Jack. She didn't like the way he was just bossing everyone around. Of course, the rational part of her mind told her that they _did _need a leader, but Jack didn't seem to be the 'leader' type, exactly. He just seemed like some guy who didn't know what he was doing. Not to mention he was a doctor. Those who fields should probably be kept separate for safety reasons.

"Whatever you say, doc," Sawyer said sarcastically. "You're the hero."

He walked away, still shaking his head, and Scarlett made a mental note to berate him for his ignorance later.

"You guys found the cockpit?" Boone asked, walking up to Jack with an interested look on his face. Jack nodded. "Any survivors?"

Scarlett just happened to be looking at Kate and Charlie when that question was asked, and she saw them look at each other secretly. That and the pause before Jack answered with a 'no' led her to believe that there was more to their story than they were sharing. She decided that she would ask them later.

"It's a dual band," Sayid spoke up suddenly. "Military spec. Chances are, the battery's good, but the radio's dead."

"Can you fix it?" Kate asked.

"I need some time," Sayid said, before walking away. Then, Rose walked up to Jack.

"Doctor," she said nervously. "The man with the shrapnel. I…I think you should take a look at him."

Jack sighed and moved away to go do his duties, and after a moment, Kate followed him. Scarlett saw her chance and moved off to talk to Charlie before he disappeared too.

"Charlie," she said quietly as she approached him. "When you were there…did you find anyone alive? I mean…I know Jack said you didn't…but I was just wondering if you, you know, did."

"Um…no," Charlie said, though he wouldn't look Scarlett in the eye as he said it. "No, we didn't. There's no one alive."

"But _was_ there?" Scarlett asked, and Charlie gave her a shocked look before once again denying everything.

"No," he said. "Why would there be?"

"Oh, give it up, Charlie," said Scarlett, trying hard not to laugh and maintain her expression of neutral curiosity. "I _know _you three found _something _out there. You're the worst liar I've ever come across."

"Was it that bad?" Charlie asked. When he realized what he had said, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to try to take it back.

"Yes," Scarlett replied evenly. "It was. Please, Charlie, just tell me what was there."

"I can't!" Charlie exclaimed. "Jack said not to tell anyone!"

"Why not?" Scarlett asked.

"I dunno!" Charlie said with obvious annoyance. "Ask him, not me!"

"But I really need to know!" Scarlett said pleadingly. "Please. Just tell me if you found a man with short brown hair and blue eyes."

"Um…describe him further," Charlie said.

"Wait…so there _was _someone alive there," Scarlett said with a wicked grin. Charlie sighed.

"Dammit," he muttered, rubbing a hand through his hair. "All right. Yes, there was someone there."

"Who?" Scarlett asked.

"The pilot," Charlie replied. Scarlett heaved a sigh of relief and Charlie gave her an odd look.

"So…wait. What happened to him?"

"Um…" Charlie's eyes darted around him to make sure that there was no one near. "That thing was there," he replied after checking. "It killed the pilot. Completely _destroyed_ him."

"So there really _is _something in there," Scarlett mused.

"Don't go spreading this around," Charlie said nervously. "I don't think Jack would be too happy to get the news that I told you."

"I won't," Scarlett promised. "Thanks, Charlie."

"No problem," Charlie said, but the expression on his face greatly contradicted his words.

Scarlett walked back to the pile of suitcases, where several other people were looking for their luggage. Boone and Sayid were nowhere to be found. She sighed and sat down nearby, in the shade of the fuselage.

"Are you gonna help?" asked a tall man with brown hair. He was currently scowling at her, which twisted his face most unpleasantly, but Scarlett had the suspicion that he would be quite good-looking if he was actually smiling.

"I already got my luggage," Scarlett replied. The man gave a huge sigh.

"Well, can't you _help_ anyway instead of just getting your own stuff?"

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Scarlett asked with irritation. "We don't know which bags belong to who! That's up to the owner to find out!"

"You could still be doing something," the man replied, and Scarlett stood up angrily, slightly surprised when he stood up as well.

"I've been doing stuff since we crashed, " Scarlett replied. "Now, I'd just like to take a minute to sit and think. If you wanna go off on me about it, fine. I don't care. But pull the damn stick out of your ass and start thinking. It's okay if people take a few seconds of rest! Look at her! She's sitting there and _tanning_. Just _relax_, okay?"

With that, Scarlett turned and stormed away, ignoring Shannon's glare as she walked past. She knew that it was stupid to bring Shannon into the conversation. She felt bad that she had, and she decided to apologize at another time when that asshole wasn't trying to shove work down her throat.

So she stormed off across the beach, and saw Sayid sitting on the ground, working on something.

"Hey," she said to him with a smile. "That the transceiver?"

Sayid looked up at her and smiled, squinting against the sun that was behind her head.

"Yes," he said.

"You having any luck?" she asked.

"I believe so," Sayid replied. "But I can't tell yet."

"Oh," Scarlett replied. She watched Sayid for a few more moments before the silence began to become awkward. "You said earlier that it could take a week for us to get rescued. With the transceiver…do you think it could be any faster?"

"Perhaps," Sayid replied. "If we can get the signal of a rescue boat, then yes, it is very possible that rescue could come sooner than I had hoped."

"Okay," Scarlett replied. The conversation died once again, and this time Scarlett didn't even try to revive it. "Well…I'm gonna go. If you need anything, though…I'm sure you won't, you can just, you know, get me,"

"All right," Sayid replied, rolling the r's with his accent, which Scarlett had noticed for the first time. She smiled at him and walked off, making her way back to sit and stare out at the water.

* * *

She sat there for a long time, just thinking. It must have been a couple of hours, at least, before she finally woke herself from her stupor and faced inland, where she saw Kate and Sayid talking. As she was watching them, Shannon stomped past her, quite obviously distressed about something. Boone soon followed her.

Smiling to herself slightly, Scarlett stood up and followed them, wanting to hear what Shannon was so upset about. It was probably something that Boone did, she figured, the way she kept glaring at him.

"I'd like to come with you," she said to Kate and Sayid, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"She's not going. She doesn't want to go," Boone said in reply, looking right at Shannon as he said it.

"The hell I'm not!" Shannon growled. "You don't know what the hell I do!"

"She postures and makes really bad decisions to upset her family which, at the moment, is me."

Through clenched teeth, Shannon replied, "Shut up and stop trying to be charming." She turned to Kate and Sayid. "I'm coming with you."

Kate looked at Shannon, making a slight face.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," she said carefully.

Shannon snorted and looked down on Kate with a look of utter contempt.

"What are you…two years older than me?" she said. "Please."

Charlie walked up, smiling jovially. He gave Scarlett a wave, and she waved back, glad to see that he was so happy.

"You're going, aren't you?" Shannon asked him.

"Yeah," Charlie replied after a moment of thought. "Are you?"

"Yup," Shannon said, shooting looks at Kate and Boone smugly.

"Yeah," Charlie pondered thoughtfully. "I'm definitely going."

"Look," Kate said. "Everyone can come, but we're leaving now."

"You coming?" Boone asked Scarlett with a sigh, evidently not happy about the way things turned out.

"I guess I am," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "There's nothing better to do, right?"

She smiled, and Boone returned it, starting to walk off towards Shannon, who was standing with Charlie.

"You actually couldn't tell from that…" Charlie began, pointing towards Kate, but Shannon just started off after the two leaders. Charlie's expression turned from happy to utterly dejected. "…But she's actually really nice."

Scarlett shook her head and smiled and walked after the others.

"Come on, Charlie," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Right," Charlie said, grinning and looking like a puppy dog; ever enthusiastic. He hurried after Scarlett and soon they had caught up with the group, which was just walking past Sawyer. He was reading that letter again. Scarlett was starting to wonder about that letter. It was like the tin of cookies that her mother used to keep on top of the dining room table from the seventeenth of December to Christmas. All she had to do was open it up and take one, but she was always too afraid of the consequences.

At any rate, the letter seemed to make Sawyer upset. Every time she saw him reading it, he was smoking, and he had a sad look on his face. She wondered why that was. Scarlett herself had some letters in her suitcase that made her upset when reading them, but she didn't read them over and over again. It made her sad, and she had had enough sadness. She didn't need any more.

She was slightly surprised when Sawyer joined them, walking out in front of Kate and smiling at her.

"You decided to join us," Kate said, eyebrows raised slightly, giving her an air of mild surprise.

"I'm a complex guy, sweetheart," Sawyer replied confidently. Scarlett grinned and shook her head.

"Oh God, not that jackass," Boone whispered to her.

"Give him a chance," Scarlett said.

"He blew his chance when he attacked Sayid today," Boone replied pointedly. Scarlett shrugged.

"Maybe for you, he did," she responded. "But for me, that's still open."

She gave him a pointed look and started walking ahead, towards Shannon and Charlie. They seemed to be deep in conversation, but on second glance, it appeared that Charlie was talking and Shannon was pretending to listen. Scarlett sighed and looked back through the woods, wondering if it was too late to call it quits. Still, there certainly wasn't anything better to do back at the beach, so she figured she'd make the best of this little excursion by becoming better acquaintances with the others.

"So what are we doing, exactly?" she asked Sayid. "A stupid question, but I just kind of got pulled into this. I didn't really hear any explanation."

"We're trying to get a signal on the transceiver," Sayid replied, holding up the radio-like device to show her. "We need to get to higher ground so we don't waste the battery and have a better chance of getting a signal."

Scarlett nodded and looked through the trees to where a mountain loomed above them.

"There?" she asked pointedly. Sayid nodded and smiled.

"Exactly," he said.

"So when we get a signal…" Scarlett said slowly. "Then…we send out a distress call…and we get rescued?"

"In short, yes," Sayid said with another smile. Scarlett nodded thoughtfully.

"Okay," she said. "Do…there's a chance we'll be rescued today?"

"Perhaps," Sayid said slowly. "There _is _a chance."

Scarlett didn't like the tone in his voice. He sounded uncertain and slightly worried. Scarlett, however, decided not to press the issue. Instead, she just nodded and walked on in silence. After a while, Sayid excused himself and walked towards Kate, pointing to the mountain and saying something that Scarlett couldn't understand.

"So, Sox," said a voice from behind her that she knew all too well. "Imagine…you doing work. Who woulda thought?"

"Shut up Sawyer," said Scarlett, shoving him playfully. "I think the same can be said for you, actually, but _without _the sarcasm."

Sawyer laughed at that and fell into step beside her, shooting her a jovial smile. Scarlett just made a face in return.

"Why'd you do that today?" she asked him, her voice hushed.

"Do what?" Sawyer asked, moving closer so their conversation wouldn't be heard by the others.

"Go off on Sayid like that."

"'Cus I thought he was the damn prisoner! I still think he was!"

"For the simple reason that he's an Iraqi?" Scarlett asked, making a face of pure disgust.

"No," Sawyer said, pointing at her as if that was a point that he _really _wanted to get across. "That's not the only reason. I told ya'll. He was sitting in the back row. He had his hands folded beneath a blanket. He didn't get up…"

"That could all be a coincidence," Scarlett said angrily. "You don't know anything!"

"Yeah, well…"

After that, Sawyer fell silent.


	6. Pilot 2 Part 3

Soooo, here's the next bit. Still mad about Boone. No shocker there, lol.

Please remember to review, and for those of you who _did _review, thanks a million times.

* * *

**Pilot Part 2(3): **Polar Bears and French Distress Signals

After climbing the side of the huge mountain, and getting her ass felt by Charlie, (she still didn't know if that was just helping, or if he slipped in a little feel under the guise of helping), and walking for what seemed like forever, the group came to a grove of palm trees.

"Okay," Sawyer shouted, from next to Scarlett. "Wide open space! You should check the radio. See if we're good."

"We're not going to get any reception here," Sayid replied.

"Just try it," Sawyer said with apparent annoyance.

"I don't want to waste the batteries," Sayid said calmly.

"I'm not askin' you to keep it on all day!" Sawyer said, his voice rising.

"We're still blocked by the mountain!" Sayid exclaimed, pointing. Scarlett sighed. The constant bickering on the part of Sawyer and Sayid was getting irritating. It seemed as though nothing one did could make the other happy. They reminded Scarlett of her family, and she _hated _that.

"Just check the damn radio!" Sawyer yelled. Sayid was beginning to get angry.

"If I just check…" he said. "We might not have any juice left when we get to…"

He broke off as a loud noise that sounded like an animal breathing sounded through the tall grass. Scarlett couldn't help the frightened noise that escaped her. Everyone stopped and stared into the tall grass, trying to see whatever was out there. It sounded like it was moving, but oddly enough, no one reacted.

"Oh my God," Shannon said.

"What the hell's that?" Boone asked, stepping closer to Shannon.

"Something's coming," Kate replied. Scarlett narrowed her eyes and tried to see through the grass. She saw something white. It was moving towards them, and it was moving fast.

"It's coming towards us, I think," Charlie remarked. Scarlett nodded and started to back away slowly, not quite sure why no one else was moving with her.

"Come on, let's move!" Kate yelled, running past Scarlett. Sayid and Charlie followed her, and Scarlett followed soon after them. Behind her, she heard Shannon screaming something that she didn't catch, and then she heard Boone yelling at her to run.

"Go! Go!" Sayid yelled. Suddenly, Kate stopped moving and faced back towards where the thing had been moving. Scarlett skidded to a halt as well.

"Sawyer!" Kate yelled. Sayid grabbed her around the waist and turned her around.

"Let him go!" he yelled. Scarlett turned around and started to move again, when the sound of gunfire stopped her. She froze and whirled back around, watching as a huge white, furry thing materialized out of the grass and charged straight for Sawyer. Fortunately for him, the thing fell dead before it reached him; right at his feet. Everyone slowly moved back towards the bear, as if afraid that it would suddenly spring to life again.

"That…that's a big bear," Shannon said, awed by the size of the thing. As Scarlett got closer, she had to agree. Boone looked at her as she took a spot next to him, and shrugged.

"You think that's what killed the pilot?" he asked. Scarlett shot Charlie a look. He and Kate looked at each other guiltily. Apparently, they hadn't been able to keep quiet about the pilot for long.

"No," Charlie said in answer to Boone's question. "No…that's a tiny, teeny version compared to that."

Nobody seemed to notice Boone's slip-up. They stood in silence for a short moment, before Kate spoke up with, "Guys…this isn't just a bear. It's a _polar _bear."

Boone crouched down and looked at it, making a face. He looked up at Kate, then at Shannon, and then at Scarlett. Seeing that Scarlett was the only one who wasn't staring with an open mouth at the polar bear, he spoke looking at her when he said his next words, though they were meant for everyone.

"That can't be a polar bear," he said.

"It's a polar bear," said Sayid, Kate, and Sawyer in unison. Scarlett just mumbled something that wasn't meant to make sense, and she nodded her head.

"Wait a minute," Shannon said suddenly. "Polar bears don't usually live in the jungle."

Everyone glanced at her for a moment, trying to see if she was serious or not.

"Spot on," Charlie said to her.

"No," Sayid said. "Polar bears usually don't live this far south."

Boone said, "This one does."

Scarlett looked at Kate, who happened to catch her eye. Kate shrugged and looked back down at the polar bear, drawing in a shuddering breath. Then, she looked back at Scarlett and shook her head slowly. Scarlett got the message. Kate was scared, and she was admitting it. Scarlett didn't blame her. She was scared too.

"Did," Sawyer said suddenly. "It _did_."

He was smug, and Scarlett figured that he had every reason to be. After all, he had just killed the polar bear. If it weren't for him, they would still be running through the jungle yelling and screaming. And, when Scarlett thought about it some more, someone probably would have ended up dead. Sawyer deserved to be smug, if only for this once, but Scarlett knew that the others weren't going to give him his chance to shine.

"Where did that come from?" Kate asked, looking Sawyer directly in the eye. Sawyer rolled his eyes heavenward and then turned back to Kate.

"Probably bear village," he said. "How the hell do I know?"

Kate interrupted. "Not the bear. The gun."

Everyone turned and looked at Sawyer, all realizing at once that Kate had posed a good question. Where _had _Sawyer gotten that gun? Scarlett folded her arms across her chest and looked at Sawyer, waiting. When he caught her eye, he shrugged slightly.

"I got it off one of the bodies," he said.

"One of the bodies," Sayid replied skeptically. Sawyer shot him a look that said he was clearly not amused.

"Yeah," he said. "One of the bodies."

"People don't carry guns on planes," Shannon said pointedly. Scarlett turned and looked at Kate, who was just staring at Sawyer, not moving, as if she was afraid that he was going to start shooting wildly if she did.

"They do if they're a U.S. Marshal, Sweet Cheeks," Sawyer replied. "There was one on the plane."

"How do you know that?" Kate asked suddenly. Scarlett looked at Charlie, who shrugged. Sawyer sighed and rolled his whole head as if explaining himself was the most unpleasant thing he'd ever have to do.

"I saw a guy lying there with an ankle holster, so I took the gun. Thought it might come in handy." He turned and looked at everyone, gesturing to the polar bear. "Guess what? I just shot a bear!"

"So why do you think he's a Marshal?" Kate asked, her face calm.

"Because he had a clip on badge." Sawyer started rummaging in his pocket. "I took that too." He finally pulled the badge out of his pocket. "Thought it was cool."

"I know who you are," Sayid spat. "You're the prisoner."

"I'm the what?" Sawyer asked incredulously. Scarlett opened her mouth to try and tell them to stop it, but Sayid beat her.

"You found a gun on a U.S. Marshal? Yes, I believe you did. You knew where it was because you were the one he was bringing back to the states. Those handcuffs were on you. That's how you knew there was a gun."

Sawyer rolled his eyes and made a face. Scarlett turned back and looked at Kate, who was inching closer to Sawyer and Sayid.

"Piss off," Sawyer said angrily to Sayid.

"That's who you are you son of a bitch," Sayid said, eyes narrowed.

"Be as suspicious of me as I am of you," Sawyer replied.

"You are the prisoner," Sayid said confidently.

"Fine," Sawyer said, throwing up his hands. Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise for a moment at what she thought was a confession, before she realized that Sawyer was just about to say another snide comeback. "I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist. We can all play a part." He looked directly at Shannon. "Who do you want to be?"

Suddenly, Kate lurched forward and grabbed the gun from Sawyer as he was turning, holding it straight out in front of her, her arm shaking. It had all happened so fast that no one moved. Everyone just stared at her.  
"Kate…" Scarlett said warningly.

"Does anybody know how to use a gun?" Kate asked. Scarlett inched forward from her place next to Boone, until she was standing next to Sayid.

"I think you just pull the trigger," Charlie said breathlessly.

"Don't use the gun," Sayid said with a look at Charlie.

"Don't," Scarlett repeated, biting her lip.

"I want to take it apart," Kate said tremulously, eyes focused on Sawyer. Scarlett heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh," Charlie said, making an embarrassed face and turning away. Sayid gave him a little smile before turning to Kate and demonstrating with his hands.

"There's a button on the grip," he said. "Push that. It will eject the magazine." Kate obeyed." There's still a round in the chamber. Hold the grip. Pull the top part of the gun."

Kate handed the magazine to Sayid. Then, she handed the gun out to give to Sawyer. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close up against him.

"I know your type," he said, almost sneering at her.

"I'm not so sure," Kate replied through clenched teeth. Sayid glanced at Scarlett with a look that plainly said he thought that the both of them were ridiculous.

"Yeah, I've been with girls like you," Sawyer said lowly, as if that was some huge secret that Kate wasn't supposed to know.

"Not exactly like me," Kate replied, pulling away from him roughly and walking off to some little secluded spot behind a tree, where she leaned against it, glaring off into the tall grass as if it was the source of all her problems.

Everyone just stood around for a few seconds before Sayid finally broke the stillness by pocketing the magazine. Boone turned to Shannon, who was still red-eyed from the screaming and crying she had been doing earlier. Charlie looked around as if not quite sure of where he was. Sawyer just looked at the ground and smiled as if everything was just one big joke that only he understood. Scarlett watched them all and wished desperately that she hadn't decided to come.

"We should keep moving," Sayid said finally, to Kate. She nodded and turned around. Rather than taking the lead like she had before, she fell back beside Scarlett, looking forlorn and upset about something. Scarlett wasn't sure if she should say anything, but she ultimately decided on it.

"Is anything the matter?" she asked.

"Is anything _not _the matter?" Kate asked with a laugh, looking around.

"Well, we're alive," Scarlett said.

"Well, then we have that going for us," Kate replied. Scarlett smiled, and decided to press the issue.

"You just looked upset," she said.

"I was just thinking," Kate said in reply. Scarlett smiled upon remembering Sayid's earlier comment about thinking.

"Meaning you _were _upset?" she asked knowingly. Kate looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess you could say that."

"Don't worry," Scarlett said. "I know the feeling all too well."

Kate smiled and gave Scarlett a look that clearly showed her appreciation for Scarlett's concern.

"Thanks," she said, sounding almost surprised that Scarlett had said something like that.

"No problem," Scarlett said. "I know it's kinda…you know, weird to say, and cheesy…but if you ever need to talk about it. I'm here."

"Thanks," Kate said again, and Scarlett could tell that she really meant it. It seemed like a burden was lifted off of Kate's shoulders, even though Scarlett hadn't done anything. Like just talking about the existence of her problems made them somewhat better.

They walked in silence for a while, until Kate started talking about the air, and how the humidity was really starting to get to her. They chatted for a bit about meaningless things, both of them knowing that their hearts and minds were really elsewhere, but both wanting to pretend that there was some amount of normalcy there. And though neither of them would have really admitted it, they were both lonely and needed to pretend that there was someone who cared.

* * *

They were walking for several minutes when they came to a flat open space with no trees, and Sayid stopped to check the radio.

"Oh, _now's _a good time to check the radio," Sawyer said, voice positively dripping with sarcasm. "Not before. But now."

Sayid shot him a look and looked down at the radio.

"We're up higher," he said. Sawyer rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we are," he said violently.

"Hey," Sayid said, ignoring Sawyer. "We've got a bar! Mayday! Mayday!"

The transceiver crackled to life and the sound that Scarlett knew best as 'TV snow' started. Several blips of sound came through, but other than that it was just static.

"What's that?" Kate asked, as a high-pitched whine joined the snow noise.

"Feedback," Sayid said, frowning.

"Feedback from what?" Kate asked, making a face. "What would do that?"

Boone joined Scarlett and Kate in crowding around Sayid. Their four heads were bent very close together. Oddly enough, Sayid didn't seem to mind the lack of room.

"I don't know," Sayid said, shaking his head.

"I'll tell you what would do that!" Sawyer exclaimed angrily. "This guy not fixin' the radio! This thing doesn't even work!"

"No, no, no, no, no," Sayid said quickly, eyes closed for a brief moment as if he was reading something on the back of his eyelids. "It's not broken. We can't transmit because something else is already transmitting."

Scarlett looked up at him with confusion written on her face.

"Here?" she asked.

"Transmitting from where?" Charlie asked at the same moment.

"What?" Shannon said.

"Somewhere close," Sayid said thoughtfully. "The signal's strong." He was fidgeting with the transceiver, trying to get the signal better.

"Somewhere close? You mean on the island. That's great!" Charlie said.

"Maybe it's other survivors," Boone said, brow furrowed in concentration.

"From our plane?" Shannon said with a sneer at Boone. "How would they even…?"

"What kind of transmission is it?" Sawyer interrupted.

Sayid muttered something that ended with "…maybe a radio signal."

"Can we listen to it?" Kate asked, looking at Scarlett with a hopeful smile.

"Let me get frequency first," Sayid replied. "Hold on."

"There's no transmission," Sawyer said.

"Shut up," Kate retorted, focused completely on Sayid and the transceiver.

"The rescue party!" Charlie said suddenly. "It has to be."

The transmission started coming through. Sayid locked eyes with Scarlett by chance and smiled slightly. There was a female voice coming through the static. Scarlett couldn't make out any of the words. Then, as the voice became clearer, she realized that that was because they were in another language.

"French?" she said doubtfully.

"It's French!" Charlie confirmed. "The French are coming! I've never been so happy to hear the French!"

At his excitement, several others started getting giddy as well. Shannon actually laughed, and Kate turned and grinned at everyone fondly as if to say 'good job'. Scarlett had the insane urge to hug someone, so she hugged Kate, who didn't seem to mind. Then she hugged Boone, who seemed to like it. She almost hugged Sawyer, but then thought better of it.

"I never took French," Kate said, still smiling. "What is she saying?"

"Does anyone speak French?" Sayid asked. Scarlett shrugged when his eyes fell on her. She took four years of it in high school, but hadn't come away with an ounce of knowledge. The only word she knew was 'poubelle' which meant trashcan, and that was because she had always thought the word was too pretty to mean something so nasty.

Fortunately, there was someone who actually _did _speak French.

"She does," Boone said, pointing to Shannon, who didn't seem to want to volunteer herself.

"No I don't!" Shannon exclaimed, as if Boone was accusing her of some horrible crime. "What?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Boone exclaimed, looking extremely annoyed with her. "You spent a year in Paris!"

"Drinking, not studying!" Shannon replied. Scarlett allowed a small smile at that. Somehow, she wasn't all that surprised.

The woman's voice stopped, and a deep male monotone voice said, "Iteration" followed by a bunch of numbers.

"Okay…what's that?" Charlie asked, pointing to the transceiver like it was a disgusting bug.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sayid exclaimed, tightening his grip on the transceiver and shaking it slightly. Scarlett bit her lip nervously.

"No, no, no what?" Kate asked seriously. Her seriousness paired with her words would have been funny in any other situation, but Scarlett didn't even smile.

"The batteries are dying," Sayid said tightly.

"How much time do we have?" Kate replied.

"Not much," Sayid responded.

Meanwhile, Boone was still trying to convince Shannon that she spoke French.

"I've heard you speak French!" he exclaimed. "Listen to this. Listen to it."

"I can't," Shannon said, her voice thick with tears. Scarlett couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the poor girl. After all, she had probably never experienced something as harrowing as a plane crash, and when something so huge was placed on her shoulders, Scarlett didn't blame her for bowing under the pressure.

"You speak French or not?" Sawyer asked. "Because that would be nice."

Shannon took the transceiver.

The iteration message repeated again. Scarlett wasn't sure, but she thought it had different numbers than it had before. Charlie, once again, seemed to be the only one who noticed.

"That voice is weird," he said plainly. "What is that?"

Once again, everyone ignored him and just turned to Shannon, yelling 'come on!' at her and making her look more frustrated.

"It's repeating," she said after a moment.

"She's right," Sayid said almost immediately.

"What?" Boone and Scarlett asked at the same time.

"It's a loop," Sayid said. "Iteration. It's repeating the same message. The counter, the next number will end 533."

Sure enough, the next iteration number ended in 533.

"Does anyone know what he's talking about?" Sawyer asked. Scarlett had to admit that she didn't.

"It's a running count of the number of times the message has repeated," Sayid said, though it seemed like he was more talking to himself than really to anyone. "It's roughly 30 seconds long so…how long…"

He thought to himself, making small hand movements and moving his lips slightly as he tried to calculate in his head.

"Don't forget to carry the one, chief," Sawyer said rudely. Scarlett shot him a look that he saw, and he smirked slightly.

"She's saying," Shannon said suddenly. "She's saying 'please help me. Please come get me'."

"Or, she's not," Sawyer retorted. "You don't even speak French!"

"Let her listen," Kate said slowly.

"Shut up, man," Boone said.

"The battery, the battery," Charlie reminded them all.

The iteration number repeated again, the hollow empty voice starting to frighten Scarlett.

"I'm alone now. On the island alone. Please someone come. The others they're…they're dead. It killed them. It killed them all."

She stopped and handed back the transceiver as the battery died.

"That was good," Boone assured her, taking both of her shaking hands in his.

"Sixteen years," Sayid said suddenly.

"What?" Sawyer asked, eyebrows raised.

"Sixteen years and five months. That's the count."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Boone asked, dropping Shannon's hands. Scarlett closed her eyes, hoping that what she thought Sayid was going to say wasn't right.

"The iterations. It's a distress call. A plea for help. A mayday. If the count is right, it's been playing over and over for sixteen years."

There was a long silence. Everyone thought that over, chewing on that bit of information with frightened yet thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"Someone else was stranded here?" Boone said finally.

"Maybe they came for them," Kate said reassuringly. There was another silence, and then Sawyer said what everyone was secretly thinking.

"If someone came, why is it still playing?" he asked. Scarlett winced and looked around. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, eyes out of focus.

"Guys…" Charlie said suddenly, looking up at all of them. "Where are we?"


	7. Tabula Rasa Part 1

Well, here we are! Another chapter!

I wrote this one a while before Boone bit the bit one, and it's kinda sad because there's a lot of him, and even a little bit of cute fluffy stuff at the end. Ah! I can't take it! I want my Boone back :(

Please review! It really makes my day! And thanks for all of you who _did_ review. It only takes a couple of seconds, and it's SO awesome to me.

* * *

**Tabula Rasa (1): **The Secret's Out

Scarlett looked around her. Everyone was standing silent, mulling over Charlie's question. It was frightening to them all that no one knew the answer to that.

"We should start heading back," Sayid said after the long pause. "It will be getting dark soon, and we want to try to make it back to the beach before nightfall."

"I agree," Kate said, happy to change the subject. Sawyer looked like he was going to say some sarcastic comment to that, but then he just closed his mouth, gritted his teeth, and nodded.

"Let's go then," Boone said with a shrug.

* * *

_"Mommy?"_

_Even though she was only eight, Scarlett knew that the scene before her was something bad. Her mother was sitting at the table, her head in her hands, shoulders shaking. When she heard Scarlett's shaky question, she looked up, and Scarlett saw that her face was streaked with red. She screamed. _

_"Scarlett, baby, it's okay," her mother said comfortingly. "It's okay. Just stay there and I'll wash this off,"_

_Her mother was shaking as she went to the sink. Scarlett just clutched her teddy bear tighter and waited. When her mother turned around again, her face was clean, and there was a bandage on her forehead. _

_"Mommy…what happened?" Scarlett asked. "Why did you make me hide under the bed?"_

_"Daddy came home," replied her mother. "He was mad, sweetie."_

_"Why?" Scarlett asked innocently. Scarlett's mother sighed and looked down at the floor. _

_"Because he found out that he wasn't really your daddy," she replied. _

_"Then who is my daddy?" _

_"Someone who is gone now."_

_"You mean dead?" _

_"No. Just gone."_

_"But where did my fake daddy go?"_

_A strange look came over her mother's face. Then, she said, "He's gone too."_

_"Forever?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Is that good?"_

_"Yes, sweetie. That's very good."

* * *

_

"It's getting dark," Boone said, biting his lip slightly.

"Then pick up the pace," Sawyer replied sarcastically.

"Dick," Boone muttered as Sawyer walked by.

Sawyer rolled his eyes and said, "little louder?"

"We should make camp," Sayid said to everyone, but directing his comment to the two of them.

"What?" Shannon asked. "Here?"

"Yes, here," Sayid replied.

"Why?" Scarlett asked.

"I'm not stopping. You all have a nice cookout." That, naturally, was Sawyer.

Sayid rolled his eyes. "Excellent. Walk through the jungle in the dark."

"Ooh," Sawyer said. "Afraid the trees are going to get us?"

"No," Sayid replied. "What is knocking down the trees will get you."

In reply, Sawyer pulled out his gun. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Well if you're so worried about me, how about you give me the clip back?" Sawyer's eyebrows rose and he smiled.

"Put the gun back in your pants, Sawyer," Kate said. "Sayid's right. If you keep walking, you're not going to make it to the beach."

"Yeah?" Sawyer responded with a characteristic smirk. "Why's that?"

"Trust me," Kate replied after a pause. Sawyer smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Trust you?" he asked. "Sweetheart, I ain't afraid of no jungle fiend."

"You will be when it finds you," Scarlett pointed out. Sawyer gave her a smirk and a nod of surrender.

"We don't even know what's out there," he said.

"True…but it can't be good," Boone said.

"It's not," Charlie muttered. It seemed as if he had meant for it to be a low mutter, but it ended up being loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone turned and looked at him. He was looking at the ground, but after the long silence that followed his remark, he slowly lifted his eyes from the ground. Kate refused to look at him, but everyone else was staring.

"What did you say?" Sayid asked.

"I said…it's not," Charlie said nervously. "At least…I don't think it is."

"You were out in the jungle this late," Sayid said suspiciously. "If you had not seen anything…then you would not be so adamant when advising him what to do."

"I…we…didn't see anything," Charlie stuttered, looking to Kate for help.

"Yeah you did," Boone said, looking surprised. "Charlie…you told me…"

He broke off when he suddenly realized that it was supposed to be a secret. Kate and Charlie didn't bother to glare. The others would have figured it out eventually.

"Jack told us not to tell anyone," Kate said slowly, giving Charlie a look that was something between a glare and a question. "He didn't want people to panic."

"What did you see?" Sayid asked carefully. Kate sighed.

"We didn't _see _anything," she replied.

"Then what happened?" Sawyer asked. "What didn't the good doc want you to tell us little folks?"

"That thing attacked the pilot," Kate said. "He was still alive when we got there. He told us…he told us that we lost communication…and we were really far off course. But then that thing came and attacked him. We didn't get a good look at it. He stood up to look out the window when he heard it, and it pulled him right up."

"And we found him in a tree later on," Charlie said softly. Kate looked at him and then nodded.

"Dead," she said.

"In a tree?" Shannon asked.

"Like something huge and massive threw him there," Charlie replied. "He was all bloody…mangled…" He trailed off, looking sick. "And it was a big tree."

"But what could do that?" Boone asked.

"This French lady's transmission has been running on here for sixteen years…there was a damn polar bear in the jungle…hell, why can't there be a jungle beast that throws people into trees after having a little fun? That just makes our stay here a little more interestin', right Sox?" Sawyer shot Scarlett a look. Scarlett just looked away.

"I say we camp here," Shannon said, trying not to sound nervous. "Now."

"Let's build a fire," Sayid said, pulling out a lighter. "It will keep the animals away."

* * *

Scarlett wandered into the trees, looking for some firewood that wasn't wet from the recent rain. She heard someone walking behind her and turned to see Kate. Kate smiled at her and held up a dry branch.

"I found it under a bunch of wet stuff," she said with a grin. "We could get the fire started with this, and then we can add some wet stuff onto it later if we have to."

"Okay, sure," Scarlett said, shrugging. She started walking back to where Kate was.

"Hey…uh…Scarlett…I have a question."

Scarlett smiled at Kate and shrugged.

"Sure," she said. "Shoot."

"Who do you think the handcuffs were on?"

Slightly surprised by the question, Scarlett shrugged.

"Probably someone that no one would suspect," she said with a laugh. Kate's face registered surprise. "I don't think it was either Sawyer or Sayid."

"Why not Sawyer?" Kate asked.

"If Sawyer had been arrested and had done something bad enough that they had to bring him on the plane in handcuffs with a U.S. Marshall…I have a feeling that he would at least try to fit in and make it look like he was innocent."

"But what if he was just too…stupid to do that?"

"I really don't think he is," Scarlett said. "He doesn't seem too bad."

"What about what he said to Sayid earlier? And how he's been treating everyone?"

"Well, yeah, he seems like a redneck asshole…but he can be nice. I think. I mean…honestly…none of us really know each other. And if we don't give each other a chance, then we won't get to."

She gave Kate a pointed look. Kate just shrugged and made a face.

"I guess," she said. "But he hasn't made a very good first impression."

"Maybe not to you," Scarlett said. "But he did to me."

She started walking back towards the others, not really surprised when Kate fell into step beside her.

* * *

The group was seated around the fire later that night, huddled together for warmth and for the feeling of security that the closeness brought. Scarlett found herself sitting between Sawyer and Boone, and directly across from Charlie.

Sayid came out of the trees and put down a rock. He lit a branch on fire and held it up. Then, he took the rock and put it where everyone could see it.

"This is Australia," he said, putting down the rock. Then, he held up the torch. "This is us."

"Nice stick," Sawyer remarked randomly. Scarlett shot him a look that he pretended not to see.

Sayid began his demonstration.

"Two days ago we take off from Sydney. We fly along the same northeast route every commercial airliner bound for Los Angeles. Now the pilot…he said he lost communication with the ground, correct?"

Kate looked up. "Yeah," she said. "Six hours in. He turned around and headed for Fiji."

"So we changed course," Sayid said, using his models. "Regrettably, no one knew we changed course. The turbulence hit. We know the rest."

He put the fire on the torch out and looked around.

"The pilot said we were over a thousand miles off course," Kate said.

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "But they'll find us. They have satellites in space that can take pictures of your license plate."

"If only we were all wearing license plates," Sayid said with a smile. Scarlett, who had just been staring into the fire thoughtfully, smiled slightly, still staring. Boone nudged her slightly and she looked at him.

"You all right?" he asked, putting a hand on her back. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she lied. He seemed to sense that she was lying, but he didn't seem to want to press the issue, so he just nodded back and moved his hand down to her arm. It was oddly comforting.

"Well, aren't you the pessimist," Charlie muttered to Sayid. Sayid smiled again.

"Basic photography, he said. "Point and shoot. Satalites can shoot, but they must be told where to point."

Charlie chewed on that for a bit before finally responding with, "Oh…Bollucks."

Sawyer shifted slightly, a sure sign that he was about to say something. And he did.

"Okay. Really enjoyed the puppet show. Fantastic. But we're stuck in the middle of damn nowhere! How about we talk about that other thing. You know, that transmission Abdul picked up on his little radio? The French chick that said, 'They're all dead.' The transmission's been on a loop for…how long was it, Freckles?"

He looked at Kate questioningly. She looked down and muttered, "Sixteen years."

"Right," Sawyer said. "Let's talk about that."

"Well, we have to tell the others when we get back," Boone said. Scarlett nodded slightly in agreement.

"Tell them what, exactly?" Shannon asked. Boone rolled his eyes.

"What we heard," he retorted, finally moving his hand off of Scarlett's arm as if he had just realized that it was there.

"You didn't hear anything," Shannon reminded them. "I'm not a stupid translator."

"No one's going to tell them anything," Sayid said. "To relay what we heard without fully understanding it will cause a panic. If we tell them what we know…we take away their hope. And hope is a very dangerous thing to lose."

There was a long pause, in which the only sound was the sound of the fire crackling gently. Then, Kate looked up.

"So we lie," she said.

Sayid looked around at everyone and sighed.

"Yes," he said.

"But it's better than telling them about all this," Scarlett agreed. "People panic. It's basic human nature. If they panic…then who knows what might happen."

"Chaos," Sayid supplied. "People killing each other. Not respecting each other's basic rights. Rape. Murder."

"I say we don't tell them," Shannon said quickly.

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a sigh.

"Then we're agreed?" Sawyer said. Kate still didn't look too reassured. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Have a problem with lying?"

"Shut up, Sawyer," said Kate with surprising venom. "You don't know anything about me."

"Damn right I don't," Sawyer replied with a laugh, unfazed by Kate's anger. He stood up and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up and taking a drag. "I have to take a piss. Everyone okay with that, or do I have to do that near the fire too?"

No one said anything to him and just stared into the fire quietly as he moved off to do his business. After a while, Kate and Sayid started conferring in low voices, and Charlie started to try and get Shannon to talk with him. Having no one else to talk to, Boone turned to Scarlett.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked. "You look tired."

"I am," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "I feel like I haven't slept in forever."

"Well, you can sleep now," Boone said with a shrug.

Scarlett laughed and said, "Like I'd ever be able to sleep out here, with that thing walking around."

"Don't worry," Boone replied. "You can hear that thing from so far away. I'd wake you up before it got anywhere near us."

Scarlett smiled at him, touched.

"Thanks," she said. "I actually think that will help me sleep. Unbelievably."

"Hey, that was my goal," Boone said with a laugh.

"Hey, Sox," came Sawyer's drawl as he took his seat next to Scarlett once again. "What'd I miss?"

"You weren't gone for that long, Sawyer," Scarlett said with a small smile.

"Yeah, I was just lookin' for a good conversation starter," Sawyer replied with a smirk. "And see? It worked. We're talkin'."

"That we are," Scarlett said, shaking her head slightly. "I just don't get you, Sawyer."

"That's okay, sweetheart. Not many people do."

"I'm not surprised," Scarlett retorted.

"That don't mean I'm not a nice guy," Sawyer pointed out.

"Oh, no, they're not connected," Scarlett said. "But I don't know…right now you're kinda in the gray area for me."

"And why's that?" Sawyer asked. "I done something to upset you?"

"Well," Scarlett said. "You accused Sayid of being a terrorist, acted like a jackass this entire little expedition, and then you just sit down while I'm having a conversation with Boone and expect me to forget all about him and talk to you."

Boone smiled and shrugged. Sawyer rolled his eyes, but the smile didn't disappear from his face.

"Well, okay, Sox. I see you've made your point quite nicely. Does that mean you want me to leave?"

"You can do whatever the hell you want to do, Sawyer," Scarlett replied. "But until you start treating everyone better, then don't be surprised when I'm less then excited that you're here."

With that, she promptly turned her back and faced Boone, picking up a conversation about how they wished they were back on the beach. Scarlett knew that she had hurt Sawyer. She could tell by the way his arm, which was pressed against hers, relaxed, as if all the tension went out of the muscles. And how the arm didn't move at all, except when he breathed.

She knew that if she turned and looked, he would be staring into the fire, his eyes looking haunted. Because that was what everyone did on that island. Everyone had their own baggage. Scarlett was beginning to wonder if them all crashing on the island together was more than just a coincidence.

* * *

Scarlett never really fell asleep, but just lay there with Boone on one side and Kate on the other, her arms wrapped around herself and a small blanket draped over her. It was hardly enough to keep out the wind and the cold that had suddenly come upon them, but it was something.

She heard Boone moving around, and suddenly the warmth pressed against her left side was gone. Figuring that he was going to go to the bathroom, she kept quiet, slightly reassured that she wasn't the only one awake.

But apparently, Boone wasn't going to the bathroom. Because she heard someone else stand up swiftly, growling under their breath. She turned over and opened her eyes and saw Sayid glaring at Boone, who was holding both the gun and the clip.

"What are you doing?" Sayid asked. Apparently, Scarlett wasn't the only light sleeper, because at Sayid's words, they all got up and formed a small circle around Boone.

"Standing guard," Boone said simply. "You heard what they said was out there."

"You took my gun off me, boy?" Sawyer snarled. Scarlett rolled her eyes slightly and looked studiously at Boone, forcing herself to not look at Sawyer.

"Please," Shannon said in what was probably her rudest voice. "You've never even held a gun." She turned and looked at everyone. "He doesn't believe in guns. He goes on marches."

Scarlett refrained from rolling her eyes again. The petty bickering was getting extremely irritating. She'd have thought that the plane crash would bring Shannon and Boone together. Instead, they were squabbling like the spoiled little rich kids that they were. Of course, she was one to talk. Her and Anthony would probably do more than squabble.

"I do not go on marches," Boone retorted.

"Give it back to me," Sayid said, holding out his hand. Boone recoiled like a frightened child, but started to hold out the gun warily.

"Yeah, give it to Al Jezeera," Sawyer said sarcastically. "He'll protect us."

"Al Jezeera is the network," Charlie said seriously, looking very proud with himself. Sawyer just rolled his eyes.

"I'll keep the damn gun," Boone said firmly, though it was apparent that he wasn't quite sure about his decision.

"We should give it to her," Shannon said, pointing to Kate. Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "Give it to Kate."

"Yeah," Charlie said at the same moment. "Kate should hold the gun."

"Fine with me," Sayid said with a smug look for Boone. "Well?"

Boone sighed and held out the gun. Kate took it and without another word walked back to her sleeping spot and lay down. Everyone took that as a hint that the fun was over, and they all returned to their beds as well. Boone was the last one to go, and when he lay down, he didn't sleep, but just stared at the sky with his eyes hard. But Scarlett could have sworn that he looked scared. She turned over and, without a word, put her hand on his arm. He looked at her, his eyes looking especially big in the firelight, and smiled.

"Don't worry," Scarlett whispered. Boone gave a sad little smirk.

"Thanks," he said, and then Scarlett turned around and faced the other way, closing her eyes. Several moments later, Boone shifted closer to her. Scarlett just smiled and welcomed the warmth. If she had been able to see Sawyer, sitting up and smoking, she would have seen the anger in his eyes as he watched the two of them, and maybe even a little jealously.


	8. Tabula Rasa Part 2

Haha, yeah, my stories are long, but that's because I have an OCD about details and stuff like that. I can't shorten it, or skip some episodes, because it would bother me so much. I just _can't _do that!

And, Saraiyu, remember that there is a connection between Scarlett and everyone. I will hint, however, that the Red Sox shirt _does _play a part in her connection to Jack. (Good thinking!)

I will also hint that there is a connection between Kate and Scarlett in this following chapter. It's subtle though. You kind of really have to look for it.

So, anyway, thanks for those of you who did review, and please review again!

I'm going to try something a little fun now. Who do you want Scarlett to hook up with? Sawyer or Boone? Because it's pretty obvious that it's going to be one of the two. I'm not promising that the results will yield anything, since I picked long ago who the lucky guy was going to be, but I think it would be fun to see who wants her to hook up with who.

Hehehe, I made a cheesy little photo manipulation with Scarlett and Mr. Blank. It's really, really cheesy, but kind of cute. Not my best work, but...oh well! I'll show ya'll when we get to that point in the story ;)

* * *

**Tabula Rasa (2): **A Glimpse of the Past

The trip back seemed a lot faster than the trip there. And, as Sawyer so smugly pointed out, there weren't any polar bears. Sawyer said that was because they were all afraid of him. No one laughed except Scarlett, because Scarlett thought that it was a joke. She still didn't know if it was meant to be or not. Personally, she thought that Sawyer's whole personality was one big joke that only Sawyer got.

Scarlett found herself walking at the back of the pack, next to Boone. Shannon hadn't so much as looked at him all day. It was like he ashamed her by that little escapade the night before, and she was trying to forget that he was ever associated with her. Scarlett, on the other hand, felt bad, and so decided to talk with him.

"Why did you do that last night?" she asked kindly. Boone sighed and shrugged, and Scarlett could tell that he regretted his decision immensely.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't trust either one of them, you know? It would be so easy for Sawyer to get the clip from Sayid, and it would be just as easy for Sayid to get the gun from Sawyer. The only person I trusted with it was myself, I guess, so I took it."

"Do you trust Kate?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Boone said with a shrug. "She seems fine."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a nod. "I think it was a good idea to give it to her."

"Yeah, the one good thing Shannon's done this entire time," Boone said with a laugh.

"No, that's not true," Scarlett said seriously. "She's gotten herself a nice tan too."

Boone snorted, trying to keep his laughter from Shannon.

"And a pedicure," he said. "Don't forget. She gave herself a pedicure too."

"Oh, right. Can't forget that!" Scarlett exclaimed, and the two of them laughed again. Though it felt slightly mean, Scarlett had a feeling that it was helping Boone with something. Though she didn't know exactly what it was helping him with.

They talked for the rest of the trip, which took almost an hour. Boone talked about how his mother ran a business, and how she was the 'Martha Stewart of weddings'. He was very pleased when Scarlett said that her friend relied heavily on his mother for her wedding. Then, Scarlett talked about Carol and how much she loved her. She didn't talk about her family. And she was glad when Boone got the hint that there was something about it that she didn't want to talk about. And she got the hint that he didn't really want to talk about Shannon, so she didn't press it. And that was all right with the both of them.

* * *

They got back to the beach sometime later, tired and thirsty and looking defeated. That didn't stop the excitement that arose when they emerged. Someone ran to get Jack. Everyone else gathered around Sayid as he prepared to make his speech. Scarlett looked, but she didn't see Claire.

"As you and the other know," Sayid began. "We hiked up the mountain in an attempt to help the rescue team locate us. The transceiver failed to pick up a signal. We weren't able to send out a call for help. But we're not giving up…"

Scarlett didn't need to hear any more. Without a word as to where she was going to Kate or Boone, who stood on either side of her, she pushed through the crowd and started away across the beach to where her luggage was spread out in her temporary lounging spot. Claire wasn't there, but her stuff was, so Scarlett figured that she'd wait.

"Hey," Charlie said suddenly, popping up from behind her and smiling as he hopped into a seat.

"Hey," Scarlett said with a laugh. "You look…happy."

"I am!" Charlie replied. "We made it back, for one. We didn't get killed by the monster…or that polar bear, which I'm still not sure was really real…"

He shook his head and shuddered. Scarlett laughed again.

"True," she said. "You make an excellent point, Charlie."

"Thank you," Charlie replied with a smile. The conversation died for about a minute, before Charlie again spoke. "You ever hear of Driveshaft?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, grinning slightly. "My friend and I took a trip to England around…I don't know, maybe four years ago or so, and they had this song playing there _all the time_. You All, Everybody? Carol bought all the CDs, and it became kind of an anthem for us. We'd listen to them over and over when I went over to her place. I _love _Driveshaft."

She thought that Charlie's smile was enough to make him burst. He looked like a little kid who forgot all about Christmas and suddenly came down the stairs to see a bunch of presents under the tree.

"Really?" he asked breathlessly. Scarlett nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

"Charlie Pace!" Charlie exclaimed, sticking his hand out. "Bass player!"

"No way!" Scarlett squealed. "You were…oh my gosh! I remember you! That's why you looked so familiar! Carol had a poster of you guys up there! You were the lead singer's brother, right?"

"Yeah, Liam," Charlie said.

"Didn't you write the lyrics?"

Charlie again smiled so wide that Scarlett again wondered if it would lead to personal injury.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Did you like 'em?"

"Yeah!" Scarlett replied with just as much enthusiasm, though hers was somewhat forced. "Wow, I can't believe this. I'm _so _going to tell Carol all about it."

"I'll do one step better, I'll visit her with you!" Charlie exclaimed. "I mean it. When she has a birthday coming up or something, just call me up and I'll come."

"Charlie!" Scarlett cooed. "You're so sweet!"

"Oh, thanks!" Charlie said. "Well…I'm gonna go for a bit. Gotta wiz. I'll talk to you later."

"All right," Scarlett said with a small smile, waving slightly. Charlie waved back excitedly and walked off.

Left alone, Scarlett decided to close her eyes for a bit. She didn't realize how tired she was until she actually did it, but after that, there was no opening them. She laid back and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_It was the same as before. The dark, dripping trees, the roaring of the monster in the background. The smell was even the same, but it was sharper and more noticeable. Rotting flesh and blood. Scarlett gagged and staggered through the trees, trying to remember which way she had run last time. Suddenly, there was someone in front of her. They slowly turned around and she saw that it was Anthony._

_Last time, he had looked dead. Now, if it was at all possible, he looked even deader. His skin was mottled, white, and wrinkled. Worms and maggots crawled along the surface of his body, traveling in and out of his nose and mouth and making audible chewing noises. Scarlett retched and started to turn, but then Anthony's cold malicious laugh echoed through the trees. _

_"You didn't really think you could get away from me, did you, ScarScar?"_

_Scarlett turned and looked at Anthony with horror. He spit out some maggots and started laughing again, his white flesh rippling like the waves in the ocean. Scarlett turned to run, but then she stopped in her tracks as she saw the man who was standing in front of her. _

_He was tall, with curly brown hair and deep, brown eyes. His small smile sent shivers up Scarlett's spine. She heard footsteps behind her and she knew that Anthony was coming. She had to make a choice. She walked slowly towards this other man. When he saw her movement, his smile grew, and he opened his arms for her. Anthony screamed an inhuman sound, and Scarlett ran to the other man. _

_As soon as she touched the other man's hand, and his strong arms wrapped themselves around her, Anthony's screaming died, and she knew that he was gone. She looked up at the other man, and saw that he was smiling down at her, his eyes happy. _

_"I'm so glad to have you back," he whispered lovingly. "I'm so sorry about this."_

_"It's not your fault," she replied encouragingly. "I'm sorry I left you."_

_"You broke my heart," he said sadly, and Scarlett saw tears forming in his eyes. _

_"I'm so sorry," she intoned, and she laid her head on his chest. If only they could stand there forever…just like that…with none of the problems that they had encountered before. Scarlett would be willing to do that, but she knew that he would never be able.

* * *

_

Scarlett sat sullenly on the beach, knees drawn up to her chest, near the water. It was starting to get dark. She had awoken from her nap a few hours before, and had immediately sought refuge on a far part of the beach. Farther down was another woman who she recognized; Rose. She was doing the same thing as Scarlett. Just staring. Only Scarlett would have bet that Rose wasn't crying.

She heard the footsteps coming behind her, and hurriedly wiped her cheeks clean.

"Don't worry about it, Sox," came Sawyer's soft drawl. "I know they're there."

Scarlett let her hand drop and she sighed heavily. Yet she was somewhat glad that it was Sawyer and not anyone else. Even Claire. Because she was comfortable around Sawyer. She didn't know why, but she was.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked him bitterly.

"I can spot a damsel in distress from a mile away, sweetheart. And you looked like you could use someone to talk to."

"Well, thanks Sawyer. I appreciate it, but…"

"Who's Stephen?"

Scarlett froze and slowly turned her head to face Sawyer, her eyes wide.

"What?" she asked.

"Stephen," Sawyer said simply. "I happened to walk by when you were sleeping, and you said his name. Among the random gibberish, of course."

"I don't talk in my sleep," Scarlett retorted indignantly, more to change the subject and hopefully steer Sawyer away from Stephen. Unfortunately, Sawyer saw right through the attempt.

"Who is he?" he asked. Scarlett sighed with frustration, but she wasn't about to get up and storm off, because she knew that that was exactly what Sawyer wanted. No, she'd tell him and make him uncomfortable. That would teach him to not ask so many questions when someone _clearly _didn't want them. Besides, what could it hurt? She figured that she should tell someone. Maybe then he would understand why she didn't want to be back home.

"He was my boyfriend," she said calmly, looking out to sea rather than at Sawyer to attempt not to lose it in front of him. "Our parents had been good friends. They had always wanted us to get married. When I was sixteen and he was nineteen, we got 'engaged'. Meaning…he promised that he would marry me when we got older. Our parents were so happy. Then, four years ago…only a little while after the engagement…he killed someone. The death was ruled an accident and he was never convicted…but the guilt stayed with him for a long time. He broke off the 'engagement', but we stayed together. He…he changed a lot. Then a year ago I left him and went to Australia. I was going to live with my auntie Sarah Mullen and her husband, an Aussie named Ray, who owned a farm there. I stayed there for about four months, but then auntie Sarah died, and I took off for Sydney. I got a job, and a fake name, and I was pretty well off…but then my brother Anthony found me and came to take me back to Stephen. Apparently he had been looking around the world for me. Wanted me back. So we started back to LA…ended up here."

Scarlett looked at Sawyer and shrugged.

"That's one hell of a story," Sawyer murmured. "And that only goes back four years. I'm guessin' there's other stuff?"

"Plenty," Scarlett said with a small laugh, tossing her head back and rolling her eyes. "But everyone's got their baggage. I'd be an idiot if I thought I was the only one. I can hardly complain."

"I think you got plenty to complain about," Sawyer said good-naturedly. "And besides! Who said you were complaining? I asked you, didn't I?"

Sawyer's attempts to cheer Scarlett up were working. She laughed slightly.

"I just can't figure you out, Sawyer," she said with a small sigh, shaking her head. "One minute you're the nicest guy I've ever met…the next, you're accusing Sayid of crashing the plane."

"Can we forget about that?" Sawyer asked with a laugh. "Please?"

"We can, after you explain what the hell that was all about."

"I don't _have _to explain anything," Sawyer growled.

"You don't _have _to, but I want you to," Scarlett replied calmly. Sawyer gave her a look as if he didn't trust her at all. And, truth be told, he probably didn't.

"That doesn't mean I have to do it," he retorted.

"That's right, it doesn't. But it would be nice."

"I ain't a nice guy, Sox. I'd 'a thought you'd 'a figured that out by now."

"Well, I haven't. Sorry."

"Whatever."

They sat in silence for a long time, with Sawyer lounged out, his arms propping him up behind him, his legs stretched out in front of him. Scarlett sat with her knees up to her chest, her arm wrapped around them. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Sawyer glanced at her several times.

"Aw, hell," he said after a moment. "I'm sorry, all right?"

Scarlett looked at him, tilting her head to one side.

"For what?" she asked.

"For bein' an ass," Sawyer muttered in reply.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Scarlett replied, waving her hand like it was no big deal. "I'll get over it."

Sawyer laughed slightly and shook his head, looking out to the ocean.

"I think you're the only one on this beach that can stand me," he said.

"Really?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Sawyer replied. "Everyone else woulda stormed off by now."

"Well, I'm not like that," Scarlett scoffed. "I think they just give up to easily."

"On what?"

"On you."

"But why is that? I don't think I've been that nice to you, Sox."

"You have," Scarlett replied. "At least you don't look down your nose at me and try to boss me around."

"Jack?"

Apparently, Sawyer caught on right away.

"Yeah. I haven't really talked to him since we crashed, but I'm getting tired of the way he treats people like you and I."

"Amen," Sawyer muttered. "At last I found someone who agrees with me."

"You sure did," Scarlett said with a laugh, and she allowed herself to take the same position that Sawyer was in; that comfortable lounging. Her upper arm grazed against his when she breathed, but that didn't really matter to her. She had been closer to men before.

"How the hell does it get so cold on a tropical island?" Sawyer asked suddenly, giving Scarlett an odd look. Scarlett laughed.

"I don't know," she replied. "But it is _freezing_. You wanna go back?"

"Sure," Sawyer said, standing up and brushing the sand off of him. To Scarlett's surprise, he reached down and took Scarlett's hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said. Sawyer shrugged.

"No problem, sugar," he said playfully. Scarlett laughed, and the two of them walked back to the camps together, chatting and shoving each other playfully.

* * *

When Scarlett got back to her little area where she had slept with Claire the night before, she saw that her friend was already sitting there. She felt like she hadn't talked with her in years, though it had only been close to two days. Of course, she had only known the girl for a little more than four days, so time was a bit stretched out for them.

"Claire!" she exclaimed as she approached, and Claire looked up with surprise, dropping her diary and struggling to get up.

"Don't get up!" Scarlett exclaimed, hurrying to Claire's side and gently pushing her back down. Claire made a noise of indignation, but stayed where she was sitting, her arms wrapped around her stomach comfortably.

"I was worried when I couldn't find you," she said to Scarlett. "I went crazy looking for you. This guy named Randy was being an asshole, so I slapped him."

She was smiling, and she even giggled. Scarlett shook her head incredulously, but she smiled as well.

"I'm sure he deserved it," she said, sitting down next to Claire. "Though I must say it seems very…extreme for you."

"I'm pregnant!" Claire exclaimed. "I have mood swings like you don't even know."

"I'm sure Randy will try to be more nice next time," Scarlett replied with a smile.

"And if he doesn't, then he's going to regret it," snorted Claire. The two of them laughed. Then, Claire suddenly grew serious.

"They say that you didn't find anything," Claire said. "That you couldn't get a signal."

"Yeah," Scarlett said hurriedly, nodding. "We didn't. It sucks so bad. All that for nothing…"

"Yeah," Claire said, nodding. She looked like she was going to say something else, but she just shook her head. Scarlett felt horrible for lying to the person who was, really, her only friend on the island. As if she could read Scarlett's thoughts, Claire looked up and opened her mouth to speak. "I don't know where this came from but…someone said that there was a polar bear?"

Scarlett laughed and nodded.

"There was," she replied.

"Really?" Claire asked. Scarlett nodded, and started to tell the story.


	9. Tabula Rasa Part 3

Well…here it is. Wednesday's episode was very sad, but also very cute with the Sawyer and Charlie and Claire parts. I'll admit I still cried when Shannon took out that picture of Boone. That was very sad. So let's not talk about it, haha!

Instead, let's all be happy that the new chapter is here! Thanks for my reviewers. I love you very much, and please remember to review again because it, quite seriously, makes my day!

ENJOY!

* * *

Tabula Rasa (3): Randy, Nightmares, and Hope

"_You don't know what you're dealing with, darling. You don't know what I can do."_

_Scarlett's eyes snapped open, and she found herself lying on the ground in a part of the forest that she had never seen. It was light out, but she still felt scared. As if she knew that something bad was going to happen. _

_Suddenly, Sawyer burst out of the woods, yelling in fury and pain. He didn't even look at her. He just ran on, shouting the same, unintelligible thing. _

_"Sawyer?" she called out after him. He froze and looked back at her, and she saw that both his eyes were completely black. _

_"You shouldn't be out here," he said in a voice that was deep and didn't hold his normal accent. "You should be back there."_

_He pointed. Scarlett backed away slightly with fright. _

_"Where?" she dared to ask. _

_"Anywhere," Sawyer replied. "I'm going to go get him."_

_"Who?" Scarlett asked. _

_"Who do you think?" Sawyer replied, as if the answer was completely obvious. He turned and ran away._

_She didn't understand. She turned back to where Sawyer had last pointed, but stopped when she saw someone slumped on the ground. It was Boone. He was dirty and covered in blood. _

_"Boone!" She exclaimed with horror, falling to her knees beside him and pulling his head into her lap. "Boone, are you okay?"_

_Boone's eyes opened, his completely black as well, and they hauntingly stared into hers. _

_"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry."_

_Sawyer appeared at her shoulder, and together he and Boone began chanting the apology. Soon, more people surrounded her, including Anthony and Stephen, Kate and Jack, her mom, Carol, Carrie… Scarlett wanted to stand up, but she knew that if she let go of Boone, he would die. _

_"Sawyer, please help me," she gasped, but Sawyer was gone. In his place stood Claire, with Kate and Jack behind her. _

_"He can't help you," Claire said innocently. "You have to do this by yourself."_

_Scarlett looked down, and Boone was gone, leaving Stephen in his place. He was looking up at Scarlett with clear eyes. The island around them disappeared, and Scarlett was kneeling on the floor in Carol's apartment. Stephen looked up at her, pouting slightly._

_"Why don't you want me?" he asked sadly. "Why did you leave me? You know I love you."_

_Scarlett began to cry, and the tears, red like blood, fell onto Stephen's face.

* * *

_

When Scarlett awoke, it was dark out, and the only light came from a fire flickering somewhat nearby. She was shaking badly from her frightening dream, so she stood up, checking to make sure that Claire was sleeping before moving out closer to the water, where she could sit and feel safe.

Only that plan didn't work too well. Sitting by the water, she felt very open and vulnerable, and she kept turning around to make sure that Anthony wasn't walking towards her with that insufferably arrogant smile that he always seemed to wear. Thankfully, Sawyer appeared at the right moment, as he always seemed to do, to keep her company.

"Hey Sox," he said. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Scarlett lied. If Sawyer saw through the lie, he didn't give any indication.

"Yeah," he said. "Me neither. Thinkin' about that distress call."

"Mmhmm," Scarlett murmured thoughtfully.

"I'm having a thought that no one's comin' to find us."

"Me too," Scarlett replied with a surpressed shver. "But I try to ignore it."

"Oh, I'm trying," Sawyer laughed. "It ain't workin'."

Scarlett laughed and pulled her knees up to her chest, looking out at the dark horizon and begging a ship, any ship, to pull into view. In the long moments that they sat there, no ship appeared. Scarlett sighed heavily and shook her head, doing her best to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"Hey, hey," Sawyer said awkwardly as she gave a pathetic little sniffle that she tried desperately to hide. "Hey, don't worry. Don't worry."

"I can't help but worry," Scarlett said with a laugh, wiping her eyes and trying to stop the flow of tears. "Sixteen years, she was here, Sawyer. _Sixteen years_. What would happen if we were stuck here for _sixteen years_?"

"We won't be stuck here that long," Sawyer replied. "You watch. We're gonna be saved."

"And if we're not?" Scarlett asked. Sawyer chewed on that for a minute, looking out to the ocean.

"Then we deal with it," he said at length. Scarlett, after looking at Sawyer for a long moment, considering and calculating. Then, she nodded.

"We will," she replied. It was odd hearing Sawyer talking like that, like he actually gave a shit about anyone else. Apparently, her earlier assumptions about him had been wrong.

"You okay, Sox?" he asked her with what sounded like genuine concern.

"Yeah. I'm okay," Scarlett replied. Then, she smiled. "You know, I should think up a nickname for you, shouldn't I?"

"Aw, come on!" Sawyer exclaimed, laughing and rolling his eyes and head back.

"Well, it's only fair," Scarlett protested. Sawyer groaned, but nodded in agreement.

"All right," he said. "What's the name gonna be?"

"Hmmm…." Scarlett said, thinking heavily. "I should think of something disgustingly cute."

"Please don't," Sawyer responded, laughing.

"Fluffy," Scarlett said viciously. Sawyer looked at her incredulously.

"Fuffy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a small giggle that she was unable to suppress.

"Why Fluffy?" Sawyer asked, shaking his head.

"Because of your hair," Scarlett said with decisiveness, reaching up and patting Sawyer's hair. He groaned.

"My hair is _not _fluffy," he said indignantly.

"Yeah it is," Scarlett replied, shaking her head. "It _so_ is."

"All right fine," Sawyer said sarcastically. "My hair is fluffy. But do you _have _to call me that?"

"Yes," Scarlett said, as if the word was synonymous with 'duh'.

"Why?" Sawyer asked.

"Because you call me Sox," Scarlett replied simply. "Besides, I could use a little bit of amusement."

"Fine, fine, I'll give you your amusement," Sawyer replied. "Hell, should make some of the others laugh too."

"Yeah, but for the wrong reasons," Scarlett pointed out. Sawyer rolled his eyes.

"All right, I'm going back to sleep," he said, standing up and holding out a hand to help Scarlett up as well. She took it and he pulled her gently but quickly to her feet.

"I guess I will too," Scarlett replied. "Thanks for the talk. It helped."

"Hey, I should say the same to you," Sawyer said, holding up his hands. "Night."

"Night," Scarlett replied, and she moved off to her sleeping spot. When she lay down, she found herself surprisingly comfortable, and soon she was fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning, she awoke to the sounds of someone yelling. She sat up, looking around her wildly. She heard a small, humorless chuckle over to the right and saw Boone bending over, tending to the fire a short distance away.

"It's all right," he said, moving over to crouch beside her. "Well…kinda. That's the guy with the shrapnel in him. I don't think they can save him. He's apparently in a lot of pain."

"That's horrible! But they're still helping him?" Scarlett asked, wincing as another yell tore through the air. Boone shrugged and handed her some water. She took it gratefully and took a sip before handing it back to him.

"I don't know," Boone replied, taking a sip as well and shrugging. "Jack still has some hope, I guess."

"Well, that's good," Scarlett said with a shrug, biting her lip.

"Yeah," Boone said. "Yeah, that is good."

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Scarlett finally threw the blanket off of her and stood up. Boone stood up with her.

"You know everyone's calling us 'the kids'?" he asked suddenly. Scarlett gave him an inquisitive look.

"What?" she asked.

"I overheard a bunch of people. Me, you, Shannon, the pregnant girl…"

"Claire," Scarlett said.

"Yeah, Claire," Boone replied abashedly. "Us and the boy. Walt, I think. Everyone calls us 'the kids.' And it's not in a good way. They use it like…derogatorily. It's like us being young makes us bad …or something."

"What about Kate?" Scarlett asked. "Isn't she like…the same age as you?"

"She's twenty-five," Boone said. "I'm twenty-three. Apparently, two years is a huge difference on _this _island."

Scarlett laughed and shook her head.

"Kids," she said thoughfully. "Kinda stupid to call us that. I mean…I can understand Walt. He _is _only…ten…ish. But…us? We're twenty-one and twenty-three. And Shannon?"

"Twenty."

"So…yeah, a little weird. Oh well. Maybe it helps them to feel like they're more in control, if they have a group to look down on."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Boone replied with a laugh, looking somewhat comforted.

"Don't worry about it," Scarlett laughed. "_I _think you're fine."

"Oh, thanks," Boone muttered, rolling his eyes laughingly. Scarlett laughed as well and said goodbye to him before heading off down the beach in search of Claire. However, she saw that the airplane seat that Claire had, until recently, occupied, had been vacated. Shrugging, Scarlett sat down in one, lounging back and looking at the waves. After a short moment, she got up again and took off her shoes and socks, wading knee-deep into the water and beginning to clean her dirty feet and legs.

"Scarlett!"

Scarlett looked up and saw Claire waddling towards her, waving with one arm cupped around her huge stomach.

"Claire!" Scarlett replied, waving as well. The two girls giggled and Scarlett came out of the water, sitting in the airplane seat beside Claire. "I woke up and you were gone!"

"I went to go help clear away some stuff."

"Claire! You don't have to do that!" Scarlett exclaimed, horrified. "You're pregnant!"

"I know, I know," Claire said with a heavy sigh. "But I like helping people. I need to. It's…part of me, I guess."

"I know the feeling," Scarlett admitted. "But you have the little one to think of, remember. Let the others do the work."

"Randy seems to think I should be working," Claire replied, rolling her eyes and saying 'Randy' with disgust. Scarlett made a noise of disgust.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"I was sitting down for a second to rest my back, because it was starting to hurt, and he told me that there was a pile of suitcases that needed sorting."

"Asshole," Scarlett muttered. "You know what, I should probably go help anyway. If I run into him, I'll tell him to fuck off."

Claire grinned and giggled, though the language was hardly appropriate.

"Thanks," she said. "I don't think I can take another encounter with the man. I really think I would bite his head off."

"I don't think I would mind, actually," Scarlett replied. Claire laughed, and with a quick goodbye, Scarlett moved off up the beach to help.

* * *

She knew that she wouldn't find Sawyer anywhere near the action, so she looked for Boone or Sayid instead. She spotted Boone and walked over, a smile on her face.

"Hey, Boone," she said. "Haven't seen you in a while. Need some help with something?"

"Yeah, sure," Boone said, moving over slightly so she could see what he was doing. He was sorting through a pile of debris for something useful. As Scarlett watched, he pulled up a pair of sunglasses and shrugged, tucking them into his pocket. Scarlett wordlessly joined him, and together they sifted through the pile until they had looked through every last bit of junk to find the helpful things.

When that was done, they sat back and started to chat. Then, the same blonde man who had yelled at her two days before walked up and looked down on them, shaking his head.

"You kids," he said, and Scarlett noticed the contempt in his voice. "Always think you can just lounge around while the rest of us are working."

"We just _were _working," Scarlett argued.

"Yeah, man, we're talking a break," Boone replied. The man shook his head.

"I don't care what you _say _you were doing. I've seen the two of you slacking off so many times…"

"Are you Randy?" Scarlett asked, the corners of her mouth twitching up despite her efforts to keep them down. He looked hilarious, standing there with his hands on his hips and his legs spread out, yelling at two kids ten years younger than him because they were talking a break.

"Yes," he sneered. "Though I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Earlier today you yelled at a _pregnant_ woman because she was resting her back," Scarlett said calmly. "You yelled at me a few days ago for resting after going through some suitcases for a little over two hours. And now, you're yelling at me and Boone for resting for a minute after we just shifted through this pile of _shit _to find things that could help _you _and everyone else. I've actually never seen _you_ doing work! Does that mean that _you_ don't do it?" Randy opened his mouth to protest, but Scarlett held up her hand. "You know what…I really don't care. How about you just _fuck off_."

The expression on Randy's face was completely priceless. He just stared at her, boiling angrily, but not finding anything to say, before he finally turned on his heel and walked away. Scarlett turned to Boone and saw that he was looking at her and smiling. She smiled back.

"Nice," he said simply. "Very nice."

"Thanks," Scarlett replied. "Yelling at that prick really helped."

"I can tell," Boone laughed. Scarlett laughed as well, and shrugged, trying to look innocent. But, by the incredulity in Boone's second laugh, it wasn't working.

* * *

Much later in the day, after wandering around and helping to clean up, Scarlett accidentally came across Sawyer's little hideout that he had been sitting in the entire day. It was a sort of miniature cave created by the overhang of a rock that was facing away from the crash site. Not only was it shady, but it provided a great place to hide from anyone who might be looking for him.

"Hey," she said. "Looks like I finally found you."

"Were you lookin' for me, or did you just happen across here?" Sawyer asked. Scarlett shrugged and took a seat on the giant rock next to him.

"Guess you could call it a little bit of both," she replied. "I knew you would have a nice little hideout where the Work Nazi wouldn't get me."

"That Randy guy?" Sawyer asked, taking a puff of a cigarette. Scarlett grabbed it out of his hand and threw it in the sand, where it sizzled and burned out. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's gross. Don't do it when I'm around. And yes, that Randy guy."

"Sorry, darlin'," Sawyer retorted sarcastically. "And I'd say that you don't have to worry about Randy. I gave him a piece of my mind. He ain't gonna be bothering anyone as long as I'm around them."

"What did you do?" Scarlett groaned.

"Relax, sugar," Sawyer laughed. "Relax. I didn't do anything to hurt the man, though I think he _does _deserve a beating for sure. No, I just told him off. Told him that if he ever asked me to help with anything, I'd take an axe to his kneecaps."

"Why didn't you just help?" Sawyer asked.

"I already told you, Sox. There ain't no point. This is all going to be one big bad dream, and we're all going to go home, never see each other again, and we're going to go on with our separate lives."

Scarlett looked down at the ground, biting her lip. She hated it that people kept reminding her that she had to go home. She recently decided that she didn't _want _to go home. She actually liked it on the island. There were a lot of nice people. Claire, Sawyer, Sayid, Boone, Charlie, Kate… the list would probably go on if Scarlett bothered to meet any more people. As it was, she was so happy where she was that she couldn't even imagine what it would be like when she got home.

"Yeah," she said finally. Sawyer looked at her with concern.

"You don't wanna go back, do you?" he asked. Scarlett shrugged.

"Not really," she said tiredly. "I mean…yeah, being stuck out here is shit right now, because everyone's disorganized and no one knows what to do…but its like the Swiss Family Robinson. You know? We can make shelters and all that stuff."

Sawyer shrugged.

"I ain't exactly got a great life back in the real world either, but I'd rather have it than be here, with a bunch of strangers, on a Godforsaken island out in the middle of nowhere."

"See, that's the thing," Scarlett said sadly. "I wouldn't."

For once, Sawyer didn't have anything to say.


	10. Tabula Rasa Part 4

Well, here it is! There's come Charlie/Claire stuff in this chapter! Not all that much, but it's the beginnings of it.

Thanks for the reviews! I love them and _you_ very much! Puh-leaze review again! I'd love you even _more_!

And score for Dae! Scarlett's auntie Sarah was married to Ray Mullen, the same Ray Mullen who Kate stayed with, who owns the farm. That's connection number 1.

Enjoy!

* * *

Tabula Rasa (4): The Marshall 

That man was screaming again. But this time, it wasn't just a few screams. He kept going. Every few seconds, another scream would ripple through the air, and the camp would give a collective shudder. Scarlett found herself sitting beside a woman named Joanna and a man named John.

"I think Jack should just let the poor man die," Joanna said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "He sounds like he's in a lot of pain."

"The way he's screaming like that…I'm not surprised," John replied.

"Jack knows what he's doing," Scarlett said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"Jack's a _spinal _surgeon," John said. "I think the guy's wound was in his stomach. I don't think he knows what he's doing."

"He does," Scarlett said calmly. "Otherwise, that guy wouldn't still be alive."

John and Joanna both shrugged and muttered something. No one really felt like talking. Though it was better than listening to that guy screaming, there didn't seem to be much to say.

"I just hope he stops screaming soon," John said angrily.

"Way to be selfish," Joanna remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I want to sleep tonight," John said, throwing up his hands.

"Again, way to be selfish," Scarlett retorted. John rolled his eyes and spat into the fire. Joanna made a face.

"You're such an asshole," Joanna growled, and she stood up and flounced away. Scarlett shrugged at John and went after her.

"Hey, Joanna!" she called out as she chased the other woman down the beach. "Hey, wait. What's wrong?"

"I wasn't supposed to be on the plane," Joanna said angrily under her breath.

"What?" Scarlett asked, confused.

"I was going scuba diving," Joanna explained, and Scarlett could tell that she was trying not to cry. "I got an ear infection and was grounded for two days. I bumped my flight and…voila. Here I am…stuck on a shit hole island!"

"I'm sorry," Scarlett said, not knowing what else to say. "I know it's hard to deal with, but…"

"I don't want to be here!" Joanna exclaimed. "I don't want to be here, listening to that man dying! I don't want to have to talk to insufferable pricks like John! I just want to go home and see my husband."

"I know," Scarlett said soothingly, wanting to comfort Joanna, but not knowing how.

"We haven't spoken in a while," Joanna explained. "I…I miss him a lot."

"Don't worry," Scarlett said. "We're going to be off this island very soon, and then you're going to get to see him."

"I know," Joanna replied with a heavy sigh, biting her lip and shaking her head slightly. "I just…I can't help but worry."

"I know," Scarlett replied, smiling. "But pretty soon, you won't have to worry anymore. Think of how happy he'll be that you're okay."

"I know," Joanna said again, and this time, she smiled. "Thanks. You know, for being there."

"Oh, no problem," Scarlett replied with a wave of her hand. "If you need anything else, feel free to ask."

"Okay," Joanna responded, smiling sadly. "I'm going to go for a swim."

"All right," Scarlett replied, waving as Joanna started to move off. She spotted another fire, where Michael was sitting with Walt. Walt looked pretty scared. With the screams in the background, Scarlett couldn't blame the poor kid. She was pretty uneasy about the whole thing herself. She sighed and moved off to find Claire.

* * *

She finally found her sitting as far away from the tent containing the screaming man as it was possible to go without actually leaving the sight of the other survivors. She was writing in her diary, looking very angry and distressed. 

"Hey," Scarlett said, sitting next to her. Claire looked up, smiling and pushing her hair out of her face.

"Hey," she replied. "You come here to get away from those screams too, because I know I did!"

Scarlett laughed humorlessly and shrugged.

"You caught me," she replied. "You picked a good spot."

"Yeah," Claire replied, wincing slightly as another scream tore through the air. "It isn't as bad here, I guess…"

"But it's still pretty bad," Scarlett finished. Claire nodded.

"I feel so selfish for wanting to get away from it," she said. "The poor man is dying, and all I can think of doing is running away."

"I know," Scarlett said comfortingly. "I feel the same way. But…it's not like we can help him. My excuse is that I'd just be in the way if I tried to get anywhere near him."

Claire laughed humorlessly and nodded.

"Very true," she said. "I think I'd be even more so in the way. I'm not exactly a tiny person."

"Without that baby in there, you would be," Scarlett replied, patting Claire's stomach. The other woman laughed and put her arms around the large bulge.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "But he's there, and I think I may have gotten used to it."

"Really?" Scarlett asked. "When my friend Carrie was pregnant, she told me that carrying around a watermelon at your stomach got tiring after a while."

"Oh, it's tiring," Claire said with a laugh. "But I think I'll miss having it there as a hand rest when it's gone. Look!" She picked up her diary and placed it on her stomach, opening it and pretending to read. "This way, my arms don't get tired."

Scarlett laughed and shook her head.

"Carrie said the same thing," she said. "About the book rest."

"Really?" Claire asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, with just the smallest amount of wistfulness. "Well…I'm going to go…uh…to the bathroom. I'll be back…in a bit."

Claire nodded with a smile and said goodbye to Scarlett before turning back to her reading. Scarlett moved away from her, not really heading anywhere, but just heading away from Claire and her baby.

It was nothing against Claire that made her walk away. It was just the pain of the memories, which was somewhat hard to bear, that made her to anxious to be away from her friend. It was the first time she had thought about Carrie in a long time, and she wanted to stop thinking about her just as soon as she could, but somehow…it just wasn't working.

* * *

She spotted Charlie and an older man sitting on a log. They weren't talking, but were just sitting in what could have very well been a comfortable or an awkward silence. She started over to them, plastering a smile on her face and figuring that at least she could meet someone new. 

"Hi," she said, stopping in front of the two of them. Charlie stood up, looking happy to start conversation with someone.

"Hey," he said. Scarlett smiled at him.

"Um…I don't believe we've met yet," she said to the older man. "I'm Scarlett. Scarlett Meyers."

The man stopped carving the whistle he was making and stuck out his hand. Scarlett took it with a smile and shook.

"I'm John Locke," he replied.

"It's wonderful to meet you, John," she said, nodding her head politely. "And it's great to see _you _again, Charlie. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Well, time's a little weird on _this _island, apparently," Charlie said conversationally. "Because I feel like I haven't seen you in forever either."

Scarlett smiled and took a seat in the sand, gesturing her head to the shelter that had been set up a little ways away from the camp for the wounded man. As if on cue, another scream erupted from within.

"What do you think is going on up there?" she asked.

"Jack's trying to save a man's life," Locke said with a shrug. "There's no way to know if he's doing anything right or not."

"It's horrible," Charlie said lowly. Locke and Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"The poor man," Scarlett said, rubbing her arms unconsciously as the goosebumps on them rose at the sound of another scream.

No one else said anything. No one else _had _to say anything. Because that pretty much summed up what they were all thinking.

* * *

After a few more minutes of conversation with Charlie and Locke (who seemed like a nice enough guy), Scarlett started to head back to Claire. When she got back, Claire smiled at her and patted the airplane seat. 

"Hey," she said with a friendly tone. "I was wondering when you'd be back."

"Now," Scarlett said with a grin, joining her friend. Claire rolled her eyes, but she was laughing.

"Obviously," she said. Scarlett curled up into the seat and looked out at the ocean contentedly, her head resting in her hand.

"It's getting dark," she said conversationally to Claire. "How can you write?"

"I can kinda see the lines," Claire said with a small giggle, bending her head closer to the page to see.

"Kinda being the key word?" Scarlett asked, smirking.

"Exactly," Claire replied. Scarlett laughed and looked back out at the ocean again.

"How's the baby?" she asked.

"Kicking," Claire said proudly. "And I've never been so happy to feel it."

"Good," Scarlett said with a wide smile. "No more problems, then?"

"Nope," Claire replied giddily. "Not a one."

Scarlett sighed with relief and laughed. Claire nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but then another scream cut through the air, and the good mood surrounding the two dissipated rapidly.

"Want to head off to bed?" Scarlett asked morosely.

"Yeah," Claire replied. "I think that would be a good idea."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, standing up. She helped Claire up, and then the two of them walked off to their shelter.

"You know," Claire said slowly. "You're the only one out here, so far, who has even _looked _at me as if I was a _person_, not this…giant watermelon of a woman ready to pop."

"Hey, I'm used to pregnant women and their mood swings," Scarlett said, shrugging and laughing. "I think I'm the only one out here who can handle you."

Of course, that wasn't really true. Claire had such a sweet temper, even though she was pregnant. Scarlett knew that the others just didn't want to be there when the baby popped out. Claire must have known it to, but she laughed and agreed with Scarlett's statement.

The finally got to their make-shift shelter, and they sat beneath the tarp with the fire flickering nearby and their blankets pulled up over their shoulders and across their knees. They could hear Boone and Shannon bickering nearby, naturally, and then they could hear someone else singing a little further away.

"Scarlett Meyers," Claire said thoughtfully as yet another scream tore through the air. "Scarlett. That's such a pretty name. Where did you get it?"

Scarlett smiled. She had told the story so many time to so many different people that sometimes she thought she should just announce it to the whole world so that they would know and she wouldn't have to say it again. But, since it was Claire, she was fine with telling the story at least one more time.

"My mom was from Tennessee," she started. "When she was little, that book Gone With the Wind was like her Bible. She read it at least six times by the time she was fifteen, and she just kept on reading it. She was…obsessed, really. Then, when she met my…stepfather, he moved her up to Boston. She was so lonely up there and missed her family so much that when I was born, she named me Scarlett after the main character of Gone With the Wind. And my middle name is Ashley, too."

Claire laughed. "Wasn't Ashley a man?"

"Yes," Scarlett said in reply, chuckling a little as well. "I used to point that out to her _all _the time, but she would just tell me that no one would know but the two of us, so it didn't matter, because Ashley was really a girl's name anyway."

Claire nodded in agreement. "Well, that's true," she said.

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small smile. "It was a huge joke between the two of us…"

She broke off and jumped in surprise when yet _another _scream broke through the silence. They looked at each other and then looked solemnly out at the beach.

"Hey," said Boone suddenly, appearing.

"Hi," Scarlett said curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Got kicked out of the shelter," Boone replied with a crooked smile. "Saw you two over here and figured I'd come to talk."

Scarlett laughed. "She kicked you out of the shelter?" she asked.

"Yeah," Boone said, running a hand through his hair. "Which kinda sucks."

"She'll get over it," Scarlett said, patting the ground beside her. Boone joined her gratefully. "The two of you fight more than anyone I've ever seen."

A lie, but she didn't care. It was just a way to make conversation, after all, not broadcast her weird and unusual past to the whole world.

"Yeah…sometimes we're actually pretty close," Boone said thoughtfully, with a faraway look in his eyes. "But most of the time we're just ready to rip each other's heads off."

"Apparently," Scarlett replied, laughing. Boone laughed as well. Claire just smiled.

Another scream, and the good mood that had slowly been building was back to square one. Scarlett drew her knees up to her chest and shuddered slightly.

"Changing the subject doesn't seem to be working," she said lowly. Claire and Boone agreed. So, they just sat there in silence, listening to the screams and wishing that they weren't stuck on the island, and that they were somewhere else, somewhere happy, where nothing bad could happen to them again.

* * *

The man hadn't screamed for a while. Charlie had joined them and was sitting in front of them, his head in his hands. 

"Did he die?" Claire asked nervously.

"I don't know," Scarlett said warily, waiting for another scream. But it didn't come for a while, and finally everyone just accepted that he was gone. Sayid came back with news that Jack wouldn't let anyone but Kate and Hurley near the tent. Sawyer walked by a few minutes later, smoking and not even looking in their direction. He was moving towards the tent.

Eventually, Sayid left to go to his own sleeping quarters, and then Charlie took off too, after a smiling at Scarlett and Claire and giving them both reassuring hand-squeezes. Scarlett noticed that he lingered around Claire, and she smiled. Claire also seemed to be looking at Charlie flirtatiously, though Scarlett wasn't too sure.

Finally, only she and Claire and Boone were left sitting under their tarp, listening to the sounds of everyone getting ready for bed.

"I bet Shannon's already sleeping," Boone said with a laugh. "I'll just go back."

"All right," Scarlett said, standing up with her new friend. "But if she kicks you out again, just come back here."

"All right," Boone said, smiling. Then, he waved and moved off.

"He's nice," Claire remarked as soon as he was out of earshot. "I thought he was a snob at first, but he's really nice."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied.

"And Charlie's nice too," Claire said slowly. "He helped me move some suitcases today. But he didn't tell me his name."

"Charlie Pace," Scarlett said.

"Charlie Pace," Claire said to herself thoughtfully.

They settled down to bed, both of them chatting about the events of the day and wondering what would happen the next. Scarlett couldn't help but feel like crashing on the island was a blessing for her, despite everything that had happened so far. It helped her to get away when she most needed it. She was almost dreading their rescue.

Finally, they both stopped talking, and the only sound was their steady breathing. After a while, Scarlett was sure that Claire was sleeping, but she was not so lucky. She stayed awake, listening to all the sounds in the jungle, hoping that that _thing _in the woods didn't just decide suddenly that it was hungry.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the air, from over by the tent. It wasn't loud enough to wake up Claire, apparently, but it was certainly loud enough to make Scarlett jump with fear. Several people got up and started panicking, but Scarlett just closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, pulling the blanket further over her ears. It just seemed as if Jack had finally given upon trying to save the patient, and had just gone and killed him. She was afraid, and she wanted to sleep. As selfish as that was, she just wanted to close her eyes and leave the chaos behind her. She just wanted peace. And, the more she thought about it, the more she really wanted it to happen, and her eyes slid slowly closed.

* * *

_"There's nothing we can do."_

_"Nothing?"_

_"Nothing."_

_Scarlett sighed and sat down on the bench behind her. The doctor looked down on her with concern._

_"She's going to die?" she asked. _

_"Yes."_

_"Is she conscious?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Can I speak with her?"_

_"If you wish."_

_Stephen came running down the hall at that instant, arms hurriedly embracing Scarlett, whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears. _

_"I came as soon as I heard," he said. _

_"They can't help her," Scarlett sobbed. "She's going to die."_

_Stephen's eyes widened, and he looked at the doctor in shock._

_"What?" he asked. _

_Suddenly, Scarlett turned and ran down the hall. She couldn't be there. She had to get away from it. She reached the front door and flung it open…_

_…And found herself alone in the middle of the jungle._

_She slowly turned around, but the hospital was gone, leaving only more trees and bushes. Suddenly, she heard someone yelling for help. She started running towards the sound, but then something was in front of her. An invisible wall. The person continued to scream, until the scream was cut off with a massive growl. _

_Scarlett screamed and ran the other way, literally running into Sawyer and tumbling to the ground._

_"Come on!" Sawyer yelled as the footsteps of the beast began to rumble towards them. "Hurry!"_

_He grabbed her hand and then they began to run, as fast as they could, through the trees. That thing was still coming after them, though. It was nearly upon them. Then, Sawyer tripped…

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a jolt. It was still night, but it was completely silent. With a heavy sigh, Scarlett closed her eyes again, unconsciously moving a little closer to the sleeping form of Claire. Once she was reassured that the dream was …just a dream, she closed her eyes again and this time fell into a dreamless sleep.


	11. Walkabout Part 1

Here's the next chapter! I'm actually up to episode seven on my computer, but I'm trying to write even faster, because I love being ahead!

Thanks to all you wonderful people who reviewed, and please remember to review again! You know I'll love you for it! It's only like…two seconds out of your day!

And I, as of yesterday, am sixteen! Woot! That's my random information for the day! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Walkabout (1): **Secrets

The next morning, Scarlett woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. Claire was, _un_surprisingly, gone; probably off helping or sitting in her chair, and Scarlett found herself alone. She felt energized, though, and she was in a rare good mood. She even found herself smiling.

However, that didn't last long. She noticed that the fire had burned out, and she sighed heavily, rolling over onto her stomach and trying to pretend that she didn't see it. After a while, however, she sighed and threw the blankets off herself, brushing the sand off of her clothes.

She put on her shoes while rummaging through the blankets for her suitcase. When she found it, she put on her huge, dark blue sweatshirt, because it was slightly cold so early in the morning, oddly enough.

She turned around to go ask around for a lighter, and nearly ran into Sawyer, who was standing behind her with a smirk on his face. He held up a lighter and wiggled it in front of her face.

"I saw that your fire went out and I thought you could use a light," he said, grinning slightly. Scarlett noticed something different about him. He seemed to be a little more quiet and cautious and a little less cocky. Probably someone had deflated his ego. The thought gave Scarlett a smile.

"Thanks," she said graciously, reaching her hand out for the lighter. Sawyer snapped it back and smiled playfully.

"I'll do it," he said. Scarlett shrugged and nodded as if to say 'go ahead'.

As she watched him crouching next to the fire, stubbornly trying to get the lighter to light the wood, she shook her head and smiled. He was so much like Anthony in his movements and his voice…but he was so much nicer. It was weird, hearing him talk and having nice things come out of his mouth. He even looked a little like Anthony, if she really looked hard enough.

"Ah, there we are!" he exclaimed as the wood caught on fire and slowly began to burn. He piled some dry leaves on top of the wood, and they caught fire as well, strengthening the flames. He stood up, pocketed his lighter, and held his arms straight out, grinning. "I'm getting pretty good at this," he said. "I'm like a damn caveman!"

"I'm pretty sure cavemen didn't have lighters," Scarlett replied with a laugh. Sawyer nodded begrudgingly.

"All right, all right," he admitted. "Probably not."

Scarlett laughed and shoved Sawyer playfully. He pretended to stumble back slightly, though she hadn't shoved him all that hard.

"Fluffy," she said randomly, and Sawyer groaned.

"I thought you had forgotten about that!" he exclaimed.

"I didn't," Scarlett replied. "Trust me."

Sawyer groaned again and flopped down in the sand, looking up at her and squinting in the sunlight.

"The Marshall's dead," he said. Scarlett nodded and slowly sat down beside him.

"We all figured that," she said. "Then I heard the gun shot, and…"

Sawyer looked down at the ground and sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah," he said simply. Scarlett sensed that something was wrong, and looked at him questioningly, about to say something. However, Sawyer looked up at her just as her eyes took on the questioning quality, and he shook his head stubbornly, recognizing the emotion immediately. "Don't ask."

"All right," Scarlett said kindly, surprising Sawyer slightly. "I won't. Thanks for the light."

Sawyer nodded, regarding Scarlett with something that she didn't quite recognize. Wariness most likely. Then, without a goodbye, he moved off, lighting a cigarette. Scarlett watched him go with some sadness, wondering what he had been thinking of when he had looked so unusually thoughtful.

* * *

"Hey!"

Scarlett turned and saw Charlie moving towards her.

"Yeah?"she asked.

"Um…I found this," Charlie said, holding out a large purse. "It, uh, had your name in it…"

Scarlett gave a little scream of joy and hugged Charlie ferociously, surprising him greatly.

"Thank you _so_ much," she exclaimed, finding herself getting a little teary eyed over it. She never thought she'd cry over a purse…and yet there she was. "Where did you find it?"

"In the woods a little bit," Charlie replied vaguely, waving his hand. "It was hanging from a tree, actually."

Scarlett laughed and looked through the purse, which had, thankfully, been zippered shut when the plane had crashed. Everything was there. Her hairbrush, cell phone, makeup, gum, tampons, and a couple of pads (a solution to a problem that Scarlett hoped would never rise).

"I can't even stress how much I love you right now," Scarlett said with a laugh. Charlie laughed as well.

"It was just luck," he said. "I happened to see your license in there, so I came to give it to you right away."

"Thanks so much Charlie!"

"No problem," Charlie replied with a small wave, and then he was gone. Scarlett clutched her purse for a few more moments before she reluctantly set it down and decided that she had better get a start on the day.

Though, she really didn't know what to _do _to get a start on the day. She _could _help out and start to clean out the fuselage, because there was a lot of stuff in there that could probably be used, but she didn't really want to have to sift through the dead bodies to try and get said stuff. Some people might have had the stomach for it, butshe certainly didn't. 

Then, she spotted Sayid sitting on the ground surrounded by a pile of electronics, working on the transceiver. Grinning, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and walked over.

"Hey, Sayid," she said with a friendly wave. "Charlie found my purse in the woods, and I thought I'd donate my cell phone."

Sayid looked up at her, smiling.

"Thank you very much," he said. "This is coming along well, actually."

"Good!" Scarlett exclaimed. "I hope it works out."

"Me too," Sayid said quietly. Scarlett, finding nothing else to say, nodded and handed him her cell phone, then said a quick goodbye and left, feeling very useless.

Randy was walking towards her, so she hurried towards Sawyer's hiding place. As expected, Randy followed her. She almost made it before she felt someone grab her arm, and then Randy turned her around to face him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Let go of me," Scarlett replied in as calm a tone as she could manage.

"I asked you what you were doing," Randy growled.

"And I _told _you to let me go," Scarlett replied in an equally hostile tone.

"Let the lady go," said Sawyer's distinct drawl from over to the side. Both Scarlett and Randy looked over there to see Sawyer staring at Randy, eyes fiery with anger. Randy quickly dropped Scarlett's arm, and Scarlett pulled away from him.

"I'm tired of everyone slacking off," Randy said uncomfortably, unconsciously moving slightly back away from Sawyer. "You all do it. If we're going to make it, people have to work."

"And if those people who aren't already dead want to _live _then they need breaks," Scarlett replied. "Ever think of having shifts?"

"It's much faster if everyone just works."

"And it's also more tiring. You're working to help the people, right? So why don't you help them and start shifts so we don't have to add some more bodies to the fuselage, since you have _so _much influence over everybody."

If Randy caught the sarcasm in her voice, he didn't let on. In fact, he seemed to take that comment as a compliment. The light snort of amusement from behind her indicated to Scarlett that Sawyer, at least, had caught the sarcasm. Unsurprising considering how much sarcasm Sawyer used in his daily life.

"I don't understand what's so hard about working," Randy said haughtily. Scarlett decided that she was tired of him and rolled her eyes.

"You know what, I'm so tired of arguing with you," she growled. "How hard is it to just pull the stick out of your ass? When people are tired, people want to rest. Besides, what the fuck is there to do around here anyway? Everything seems to be doing just fine, actually!"

"Well it's going to start to not be fine," Randy retorted immediately; always with an answer for something.

"No shit! We're stuck on an island!" Scarlett replied. "But what I'm saying is that if you would only break up the amount of work that people have to do, it would be so much easier, because some people are working themselves crazy, and aren't getting any rest."

"Well, at least _they're _helping," Randy retorted.

"Fuck you," Scarlett sneered. "You're not worth my time."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode away, not even needing to turn around to know that Sawyer would be following her.

* * *

She kept walking until she got to the place where she had changed her clothes the day before. She liked it there, where the sounds of the survivors couldn't be heard, and she could be at peace. There was no screaming, yelling, or fighting out there behind that rock. If she tried really hard, she could even imagine that she was on the beach of her own free will, on vacation somewhere in the Caribbean…but that was a stretch.

"You gonna keep running forever, Sox?" Sawyer asked, just as she was about to plop down on the rock. She turned to regard him, surprised. She had known that he was following her at first, but she had thought that he stopped after a while. The fact that he hadn't turned back was actually quite touching.

"I want to be as far away from that asshole as I can be," she replied after a moment, her teeth grinding together furiously. Sawyer stifled a chuckle, but Scarlett saw the mirth in his eyes and she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't let him get under your skin so much," Sawyer said, leaning against the rock casually. "Just ignore him. That's what I do."

"I'm not like you," Scarlett replied, rolling her eyes. "I can't just let things like that roll off of me."

"Maybe you need to learn to," was Sawyer's calm reply. Scarlett made a face and took a seat on the rock. Sawyer, after a pause, joined her. They sat in a companionable silence for a few moments before Scarlett turned to him.

"Whenever I see you, you're reading a piece of paper," she said slowly. "What is it?"

The look the came over Sawyer's face was an interesting mix of emotions. Surprise, sadness, anger, love…so many emotions could only mean one thing; so many memories.

"It's a letter," he said gruffly. The tone in his voice suggested that he didn't want to talk about it any more, but Scarlett decided that she wasn't gong to take the hint.

"From who?" she asked. Sawyer gave her an angry look, but Scarlett still pretended that she didn't understand that, and she looked at him with wide, innocent eyes, waiting for an answer.

"I'm going back," Sawyer growled, his hand shaking as he reached for a cigarette in his pocket. He stood up, and Scarlett couldn't honestly say that she was upset or happy that he was leaving. Part of her wanted him to stay, but the other part just wanted to be alone for a little while. Sawyer seemed to sense that, and he nodded in her direction before moving off back to the crash site, probably off to his little hiding place again.

Scarlett remained sitting there, looking out at the ocean and hoping for something to appear. But, if she was to be perfectly honest with herself, she didn't really _want _anything to appear. She wanted that horizon to stay as plain and featureless as it had been for the past three days, but she could never hope that with all of her heart, because it felt too selfish and wrong.

So she tried and pretended to hope that if in the next instant she saw a ship coming over the horizon, she would jump up and shout for everyone's attention, pointing out to it with a huge smile on her face. But she knew, deep in her heart, that she would do so with a heavy heart, and she _wouldn't _be as excited as she would pretend to be. But she would pretend. Oh, she would pretend. She would run around hugging people and shouting at the top of her lungs how happy she was, but she knew that it wouldn't really be what she was feeling. She wondered if anyone would notice. She doubted it.

She had to admit that at least part of her _did_ want to get off the island. After all, who would really want to be stuck on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere with total strangers, a potentially dangerous monster and polar bears? Scarlett certainly wasn't feeling it. She wanted to be sleeping in a comfortable bed, preferably as far away from Stephen as possible.

That brought her to wondering…would she rather be back home with Stephen or stuck on the island? It frightened her to no end that she really did not know which she would choose.

* * *

A few moments later, Walt walked by with a golden retriever, smiling bigger than Scarlett had ever seen a kid smile before.

"Hey!" he said to Scarlett with all the childish innocence of a kid his age. "Why are you all the way out here?"

"I was just thinking," Scarlett replied. For a minute, she wished that the kid would go away, but then she decided that she wanted to talk to him. She wanted his company. "Why are you out here?"

"My dad said I should take Vincent down the beach a little so he could go to the bathroom and it wouldn't be in anyone's way," Walt said, still smiling.

"Vincent?" Scarlett asked, getting up off the rock. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure," Walt replied. Vincent trotted up to Scarlett and nuzzled into her hand.

"You're very lucky that you found him," Scarlett said, looking up at Walt from where she was crouching on the ground next to Vincent.

"Yeah," Walt said with a grin. "That's what my dad said too. He found Vincent for me."

Walt looked very proud of his father, and Scarlett smiled, remembering how upset Michael had been that Walt wouldn't talk to him.

"Your dad's a very good guy," Scarlett replied, patting Walt's hand "You're lucky to have him with you."

Walt went silent at that, and he looked down at the ground, petting Vincent unconsciously. When he looked up again, his eyes seemed to bore into Scarlett's with an eerie quality that made Scarlett unconsciously back up a tiny bit.

"You don't have anybody here with you, do you?" he asked sadly.

"No," Scarlett answered sadly.

"Don't worry," Walt said kindly. "There's lots of nice people here. After a while, you won't even notice."

Scarlett smiled slightly, shaking her head in amazement. The ten year old was giving her advice. And, though it wasn't best selling, Dr. Phil-esque advice, it was still good stuff. And he was right. She was already making friends. Soon enough, she wouldn't even notice that she was alone, because she just wouldn't be alone anymore.

"You know what," she said with a smile. "I think you're right. Thanks, Walt."

"No problem," Walt replied, smiling down at her. "You wanna take a walk with me and Vincent?"

"Sure," Scarlett agreed. Walt beamed at her, obviously excited to have someone to talk to, even if that person was more than ten years older than him.

"So why were you in Australia?" he asked with a friendly grin.

"I lived there for a year, and I was going back to LA," Scarlett replied, knowing that it was probably better to not tell the poor kid about the gory details. "How about you?"

"I lived there with my mom and my other dad, Brian," Walt said. Scarlett liked how he talked so openly, like he didn't care if the world knew his secrets. "But my mom died a couple of weeks ago, and my real dad came to take me home with him."

"I'm sorry," Scarlett mumbled, not knowing what else to say. Walt just shrugged, as if the death didn't affect him at all.

"It's fine," he said loosely. "I was really sad at first, I guess, but now it's kinda…I don't know…over."

Scarlett thought for a moment of what to say to that. Thinking of nothing good, she decided to tell a story.

"When I was sixteen…my mother died," she said slowly. "My mother was my hero, all through my life."

She looked down and saw Walt looking up at her with real interest. Not pretended interest, like most people looked at her with when she was telling her story. Not the interest of a shrink, and not the interest of someone who just asked out of curiosity but didn't really care…Walt looked at her with a child's interest…real interest.

"She was your hero?" he asked her doubtfully.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "She was the strongest person I knew, and she taught me, like…basically everything I knew. So when she died…it was a shock to me at first. It was like someone had punched me in the stomach with a fist like a brick."

"Yeah," Walt said, nodding. "Yeah, I know that feeling."

"But after a while, the shock wore off, and I started wondering what I was going to do without her in my life. Because, see, I wasn't lucky enough to have a father like yours. I had no one. So I was stuck in life, and I didn't know what I was going to do." She looked at Walt and saw that he was watching her with wide eyes, waiting for the rest of the story. Even Vincent appeared to be listening. "But then…I thought about it for a while. In fact, I think it was actually overnight. I decided that thinking about it and being depressed wasn't going to change anything, and that she was gone for good. So I decided to move on. And just like that…I was over it."

Walt was silent for a moment, and Scarlett could tell that he was thinking by the way his brow was furrowed. After a while, he looked up at her.

"I think the same thing happened to me," he said. "I felt really sad for a few days, but then I sort of thought…like she was…better off almost."

He looked up at Scarlett as if waiting for her approval on his thoughts. She smiled at him.

"That's exactly the way I thought," she said kindly. "Because if she was dead…then I thought that she was in a better place, and I almost…became happy."

"Yeah, me too," Walt said casually. "But…I am a little sad. Because…I don't even know my dad. Like…at all. He wasn't there for me at all while I was growing up. And…I guess that makes me a little bit angry. You know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "I can see why that would make you upset. But your dad is a real nice guy. I think you'll be okay with him."

"I sure hope so," Walt replied with a smile. Scarlett smiled in return, and they kept walking in a companionable silence, happy that each had made the other feel at least a little better.


	12. Walkabout Part 2

Aaannddd here we go! I'm wicked excited for the finale! I'm seriously losing sleep over it! Okay…maybe I won't go THAT far.

I thought I'd do a cool little thing and put a trailer at the end of each chapter, so you know what's coming. It'll be cheesy, I promise ;)

Thanks to my reviewers, and please review again! You all know how I love it! After this chapter, I might also start doing author thanks! So please review, I love all of you who do it!

* * *

**Walkabout (2): **Pictures and boars

When they finally got back to the crash site, Michael was waiting for them.

"Where'd you go?" he asked Walt. He seemed like he had been worrying.

"I went to go walk Vincent so he could go to the bathroom," Walt replied nonchalantly. "I stayed on the beach, and Scarlett was with me."

Michael sighed and looked at Scarlett with a nod.

"Thanks for staying with my boy," he said. "I'm sorry if he bothered you."

"Oh, no, he didn't," Scarlett replied with a smile and a small laugh. "No, we had fun. We talked."

"Thanks again," Michael said. He turned to Walt to talk, so Scarlett walked off to where she saw Joanna and Steve (or was it Scott?) talking together. She wanted to check up on Joanna, seeing as how she had been so distressed the night before.

"Hey guys," Scarlett said with a smile. They both smiled and greeted her as well. They were gathering all the dry, unburnt firewood from the pile of logs that had been part of the fire that had burnt out the night before. She started helping.

"Randy's been down our throats again about helping," Joanna said. "So me and Scott decided to do this. It seemed easy enough."

"I was about ready to pass out from exhaustion," Scott said, rolling his eyes. Scarlett laughed.

"And, of course, the bastard isn't doing any work of his own?" she asked. Joanna and Scott both rolled their eyes.

"Randy, do work? Are you kidding?" Joanna said.

"Unthinkable," Scott said with a laugh.

"Oh, naturally," Scarlett replied. She turned to Scott. "I don't think we've met. I'm Scarlett Meyers."

"Scott Jackson," Scott replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," Scarlett replied.

There was a short, awkward silence, and then they all started working again. Finally, Scott spoke up.

"You went with the group who had the radio, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said nervously.

"I was wondering," Scott began, looking at Scarlett, his eyes piercing. "Sayid said that you couldn't get any signal. But…there seemed to be something else behind that. Something else to the story."

"A lot of people seem to think that we're not telling the truth," Scarlett said, trying hard to keep her composure. She had never been a very good liar, but she was going to have to try. "But that's the truth. I, personally, think that we would have gotten a signal if the battery on the radio hadn't run out. But…we had very limited battery. We honestly didn't have that thing running for very long."

Unbelievably, Scott seemed to accept that answer. He nodded and stared off into space for a few moments before replying.

"You're probably right," he said. "So that's why Sayid wants all the electronics?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "That's why."

Scott nodded and seemed like he was going to say something else, but then he stopped, shaking his head instead and muttering to himself. Scarlett was about to ask what was wrong, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned, trying to stifle a groan when she saw Randy standing there.

"Yeah?" she asked, trying not to sound _too _annoyed. He didn't seem to appreciate the effort.

"It's nice to see you doing work for once," he said with a sarcastic grin. "And, as much as I appreciate it, I'd appreciate it even _more _if you'd go over there and help that guy with the clothes."

He pointed to where Boone was sitting, sifting through clothes and looking absolutely miserable. Scarlett stifled a giggle. The expression on his face was priceless.

"All right," she said, her amiability giving Randy quite a shock. He stared at her for a few moments, trying to decide if he should say something in reply to that or not. Ultimately, however, he decided against it, and then he moved off to go torment someone else. Scarlett, as she looked at the hilarious expression on Boone's face, had an idea.

Hurriedly, trying to escape Randy's notice, she dashed back to her shelter and flung open her suitcase, digging through the clothes and other random stuff.

"Come on…where are you?" she muttered to herself. Then, she squealed with delight as she pulled out the object she had been looking for.

Her camera. An instant Polaroid. It was an old one, but it was in excellent condition, and she had had it all through her Australia trip. She also knew that there was a huge amount of film or whatever left somewhere in her bag. (She had never really been a camera expert, though she loved to take pictures.) The camera actually looked relatively undamaged.

What better way to document her stay on the island than to take pictures? She knew that Sayid needed electronics, but she highly doubted that he would need her old Polaroid camera.

She started over to where Boone was sitting, glad to see that the expression was still on his face. He didn't notice her coming, and she raised the camera to her eyes and snapped a picture.

The flash surprised Boone, and he started, his eyes going huge and turning towards Scarlett with the air of someone who had just been woken up. Scarlett couldn't help a giggle.

"Scarlett!" Boone exclaimed, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Where did you get that?"

"It's mine," Scarlett replied, looking at the front, waiting for the picture to come out. When it did, she pulled it out and looked at it with a wide smile. "I figured I'd take a couple of pictures. You know, to kind of…document our stay here."

"Cool idea," Boone replied, nodding. Scarlett tucked the picture away. "Did Randy send you over here?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, rolling her eyes as she took a seat in the sand beside Boone.

"I'm glad he sent you and not that Stephanie woman," he said, muttering under his breath.

"Who's that?" Scarlett asked. As if on cue, a loud, obnoxious laugh sounded out from somewhere to her left. She and Boone both turned to see a woman with curly blonde hair standing in a small group of people. She looked around early thirties, maybe late twenties. She was pretty, but her hair looked really fake.

"That's her," Boone said, gesturing with his head. "The loud one."

"What's wrong with her?" Scarlett asked. She didn't exactly want to be best friends with the woman, just from the first impression, but she didn't see what Boone was so repulsed by.

"I don't mean to be rude…but pretty much everything," he replied, shaking his head and picking up a t-shirt to see exactly how big it was. "She freaks me out."

"Why?" Scarlett asked, laughing as she picked up and folded a pair of jeans before tossing them to the side. "That's the men's pile right there."

"Okay," Boone said. "But she's just…"

He didn't get to finish, because Stephanie walked up in the next moment.

"Hi!" she pronounced loudly. "I'm Stephanie."

"I'm Scarlett," Scarlett said. Stephanie squealed with delight.

"Like Gone with the Wind!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "That's who I was named after."

"Really?" Stephanie gasped, sitting down in front of them. "That's so cute!"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a laugh.

"Oh wow," Stephanie said dreamily. Boone pretended to be studiously working on folding the clothes, but he shot Scarlett a despairing look. She shrugged subtly. She didn't see what was so bad about the woman. Sure, she was a little loud and annoying, but that wasn't anything to _despise _someone for. "That's so…romantic."

Scarlett, who had just been in the process of folding a shirt, looked up to smile at her, and noticed that she was staring at Boone. And she wasn't just staring at him. She was staring at him _lustily_. Like she was thinking bad thoughts in that badly dyed head of hers.

Scarlett looked at Boone as well. He _clearly _noticed the stares he was getting. He even seemed to be shaking slightly. So maybe _that _was why he was feeling so much animosity towards the woman. In fact…that _had _to be it. After all, the woman was probably _at least_ three or four years older than him, not to mention a little aggressive. Scarlett didn't blame the poor guy.

"Yeah," she said slowly. She frowned and took another shirt from Boone, gently placing it in the pile. She was about to say something to Stephanie to try to get her to go away, but fortunately she never had to.

"I only need two people working on sorting the clothes," came Randy's stuffy voice a moment later. Stephanie's head snapped up.

"Excuse me?" she asked. "I wasn't sorting the clothes. I was just talking."

Randy shook his head, his lips pushing together tightly with obvious annoyance.

"Well then you need to stop talking and let these people do their work," he said. Scarlett thought he was going to walk away, but he just stood there and watched Stephanie.

"Scarlett, do you want to take a break?" Stephanie asked, trying to be subtle and not achieving that goal in the slightest. "Um…you know. I could take over if you wanted."

The horrified expression on Boone's face was another priceless one, and Scarlett wondered if it would be too weird if she randomly picked up her camera and snapped another picture.

"That's okay," she said instead, casually folding another shirt. "Me and Boone are fine here."

Stephanie looked completely pissed off. Scarlett half-expected her to flip out, but she wasn't exactly sure who was going to receive the bad end of her rants. Thankfully, she didn't yell at anyone, and she huffed off angrily under the watchful eye of Randy.

Scarlett _usually _would have helped Stephanie out by yelling at Randy and telling him what an asshole he was. However, she had a feeling that Boone wouldn't exactly appreciate it. But he apparently _did _appreciate the fact that she was gone, because as soon as Randy left, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and rolled his eyes.

"The one time I'm actually _happy_ that he was around," he muttered. Then he turned to Scarlett. "Thanks for not leaving," he said with a smile. "I really thought you were going to."

"I wouldn't do that to you," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "But now at least I see why she 'freaks you out'."

"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head with sadness. "I plan on staying as far from her as possible."

* * *

When Scarlett and Boone had finished with their pile, Boone went off to find Shannon and Scarlett wandered off to her shelter, her camera in hand. She had a lot of film in her suitcase, but she wanted to conserve it. She wanted to be able to take pictures when rescue came. Still, she thought it would be cool to take at least _some _pictures.

She found herself walking along the beach in the opposite direction of her 'special spot'. She was about to start taking some pictures when suddenly Sawyer appeared out of nowhere from the trees.

"Hey, Sox," he said casually. "What you up to?"

"Taking pictures," Scarlett replied with a laugh, snapping one of Sawyer. He laughed.

"Where'd you get the camera?" he asked. "I thought Saddam was hoarding all the electronics."

"I'm going to talk to him about it after a take a bunch," Scarlett replied. "But I highly doubt he needs it. This is an _old _camera."

Sawyer nodded and then fell silent. Scarlett wasn't sure about what to say, so she didn't say anything. She realized that was probably a bad choice as soon as she did it, because she knew that Sawyer was going to want to break the silence with just about anything; probably some personal question about her past.

And he did break the silence, but not with a question about her past.

"So what's going on with you and Metro?" he asked. Scarlett laughed incredulously, tucking the picture of Sawyer into her pocket along with her picture of Boone.

"Who?" she asked.

"That pretty-boy, Boone," Sawyer replied. "What's going on between you two?"

"Are you serious?" Scarlett asked. "Nothing! He's just a really sweet guy."

"You two looked pretty comfortable the other night when we were in the jungle," Sawyer retorted.

"Boone's a really sweet guy," Scarlett repeated. "I like spending time with him. That doesn't mean that anything's going on."

"Do you _want _something to happen?" Sawyer asked with deadly calm. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Sawyer…you're the only one out here who knows my story. Do you really think I'm looking for anything more than friendship right now?"

"Probably not," Sawyer replied gruffly. "But who knows."

"_I_ know, and I know that the last thing I need is another relationship. I'm just happy to have friends."

Sawyer sighed and shuffled his feet. Scarlett smiled.

"You were jealous," she said, trying to keep the giggles down.

"I was not," Sawyer retorted, though it was _clear _that he was lying.

"Yes you were," Scarlett replied, starting to laugh. "You were jealous!"

"You can think whatever you want, Sox, but I wasn't jealous in the slightest."

"I can see _right _through you, Fluffy," Scarlett said with a serious enough face. Sawyer laughed as well.

"I was just curious," he replied. "That's all. Nothing more to it."

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett said sarcastically. Sawyer laughed.

"Fine!" he exclaimed. "Don't believe me."

"I don't," Scarlett replied teasingly. Sawyer sighed.

"Well….see ya," he muttered, and then he made his way into the trees.

* * *

After taking a bunch more pictures, Scarlett headed back to the tarp-covered piece of curved metal that she and Claire called a shelter. There, she took a few more pictures, and then actually decided to take a nap. She just hoped that Randy didn't show up.

* * *

_Carrie stared at her in disbelief. _

_"What?" she asked. Scarlett sighed._

_"You heard me," she said sadly. _

_"I did," Carrie said, shifting slightly and rubbing her pregnant stomach. "I just can't believe it!"_

_"I know," Scarlett replied, sighing heavily and running her hand through her hair. _

_"Oh, sweetie," Carrie said, her face crumbling. She reached out and pulled Scarlett to her. "Honey, if you ever need _anything_, just come here. Please consider listening to Carol. I think she's right."_

_"I know," Scarlett murmured under her breath, but she was pretty sure that the older woman knew that she wasn't seriously considering it. _

_"I mean it, honey," Carrie replied. "You listen to her. She's a smart one. I'll have to meet her some time."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Yeah, you should."_

_"Do you want to spend the night here?" Carrie asked. "I can make up the guest bed in a jiffy."_

_"No, no, that's okay," Scarlett replied, waving her hand. "I'm sure he's calmed down enough for it to be safe."_

_"Are you sure?" Carrie asked, apparently reluctant to let her friend go. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett replied, standing up._

_"Call me in the morning, okay?"_

_"Okay," Scarlett replied, and she gave her friend a hug before walking out the door.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with tears on her face. She didn't know exactly what had caused them, but she remembered something about Carrie. Probably because she had been thinking about Carrie earlier.

She looked around and saw that it was dark out. With a jolt of surprise, she realized that she had slept practically the entire afternoon. But something had woken her up, she remembered dimly. Something like…

And then she heard the barking again. Vincent, probably. She sat up and looked to Claire, who was right beside her, still sleeping. At another bark, however, she started awake. Scarlett stood up, and Claire followed her, groaning under her breath.

"Sorry," Michael was saying to Shannon, who looked extremely pissed off, and Boone, who just looked tired.

Suddenly, as Scarlett moved closer to poor Walt, who was trying to get the dog under control, she heard a loud bang from within the plane. Scarlett backed away, with Claire right beside her. They ended up next to Hurley and Charlie.

"What is it?" asked Kate from behind Scarlett. She jumped slightly in surprise at the sound of the other woman's voice.

"Someone's in there," Claire replied. It _did _sound like someone moving around.

"Everyone in there's dead," Sayid replied. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Sawyer," he said with contempt.

"Right behind you, Jackass," Sawyer replied with a growl. Everyone turned to look at him. Kate tried to hide a smile. Scarlett frowned at Jack.

Jack started towards the plane slowly, with a small flashlight in his hand. Sawyer followed with a massive one. Scarlett, after a moment of hesitation, followed them. She wasn't at all surprised when Kate, Charlie, and Boone came as well.

They all crept along quietly, eyes riveted to the opening of the fuselage. It was completely dark, and it was clear they would need a flashlight that was bigger than Jack's tiny one.

"Jack?" Kate said warily, but she didn't get a chance to ask whatever it was she was going to ask, because Sawyer had plans of his own.

"I'm gonna shed some light on this thing," he said, lifting his flashlight. Jack reached out to stop him, but it was too late. Scarlett only caught a glimpse of a black eye surrounded by brown fur staring at them before Jack screamed at them to run.

The next minute and a half was complete chaos. Kate turned and ran straight into Scarlett, nearly knocking her over. As it was, Scarlett slammed into Boone, who just pulled her up and shoved her ahead of him, yelling at her to get behind a piece of metal that was just ahead. She ungracefully managed to dive behind it, twisting her ankle in the process. She yelped in pain, and then again as something crashed into her, knocking her flat on her back. Thinking it was whatever had been in the plane, she screamed and tried to get up, but her ankle kept her down.

She sat up and saw that it was Joanna who had practically tackled her.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly. Joanna nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

The little exchange had taken place in a matter of seconds, and then Scarlett painfully stood up, just catching the sight of three huge brown furry _things _disappearing into the trees.

"They're gone," Sayid said with some relief. Scarlett started to hobble out from behind the chunk of metal. Joanna rushed to help her.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Charlie asked, grimacing in pain.

"Boars," said Locke eerily after a moment. Everyone looked at him for barely a moment, then Jack nodded.

"Yeah," he said.

"Were they…eating the…?" Shannon started, but she didn't finish. She looked sick.

No one answered her. The answer was pretty apparent. Scarlett felt a little sick herself. Of course, that may have had to do with the fact that her ankle was currently throbbing with pain.

"What if they come back?" Scott asked nervously.

"Look, everyone just calm down," Jack said, holding up his hands and stepping forward. "Okay, we scared them off. They probably won't be back. At least not tonight. What we all need to do right now is just go back to bed. In the morning, we'll deal with it, all right?"

The general opinion seemed to be that that was a good idea, and everyone tramped back to their own shelters.

"Are you okay?" Joanna asked her, reluctantly letting go of her arm.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling. "I'm fine. You can go back."

"Okay," Joanna said reluctantly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Positive."

Joanna gave her a comforting pat on the back and started to walk away. Just then, Boone appeared, looking upset about something.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "I was just telling Joanna. I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Scarlett smiled again. "Because I pushed you pretty hard. I didn't mean to…"

"No, no, it's not your fault," Scarlett replied quickly. "I tripped after that."

Boone gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't buying it.

"What happened?" he asked.

"What?" Scarlett replied.

"You're hurt, right?"

"Um…no," Scarlett said quickly.

"Yeah you are. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Boone, honestly, I really can't complain. I am _clearly _like…the least worst off here."

Boone just looked at her. Scarlett wasn't the best liar. In fact, she couldn't lie if her life depended on it. However, she was getting rather good. Earlier, Scott had believed her lie about not getting a transmission, and so had Claire. But this was different. How are you supposed to lie when you're in pain, albeit not _too _much pain?

"I don't believe you," he said.

"What are you going to do, check me?" Scarlett asked, stubbornly placing her hands on her hips. Boone shrugged.

"I always could," he said casually.

"No," Scarlett replied simply, though she laughed.

"Why not?" Boone retorted playfully. "_You _suggested it!"

"No I didn't!" Scarlett replied. "You are so…"

"There a problem here, Sox?"

If the accent and the anger in his tone hadn't given the identity of the speaker away, the nickname definitely did the trick. Sawyer stepped up to the two of them, arms folded across his chest. Boone looked to Scarlett helplessly. He knew that he was no match for the much bigger man.

"No," Scarlett replied, laughing. "We were just fooling around."

"Maybe it's time we all went to bed," Boone said, obviously nervous.

"Hold it, boy," Sawyer growled, holding up a hand.

"Sawyer, don't," Scarlett replied, looking at him warningly. "He's right. Let's just go to sleep."

Sawyer growled something under his breath and pushed past Boone roughly. Rather than rubbing his shoulder and wincing like Scarlett thought he was going to, he just sighed and shook his head.

"I don't understand how you can tolerate that guy," he said lowly.

"Sometimes, neither do I," Scarlett replied with a smile. "Sometimes I wonder if there's two of him wandering around somewhere; the nice one and the asshole."

Boone laughed.

"Well, I haven't seen the nice one yet," he said. "But the asshole seems to like following me around."

Scarlett laughed. Boone shrugged and smiled as well, turning around to make sure that Sawyer wasn't coming back.

"You just have to get to know him at the right time," Scarlett replied. "He seems to have more mood-swings than a pregnant woman."

"Yeah, definitely," Boone replied. "We should be heading back to our shelters. I bet Shannon's wondering where I am."

He rolled his eyes to show that he wasn't exactly happy about the situation, and Scarlett smiled.

"Yeah," she said. Boone started walking, and Scarlett followed him, trying hard not to limp. But as soon as she took the third step, she knew that it was hopeless. She winced and let out a little hiss of pain. Boone turned around and saw her limping, shaking his head.

"I knew there was something wrong," he muttered. "Let me take a look at it…"

"No, it's okay," Scarlett replied, taking a painful step back. "I'll look at it in the morning. Right now I just really want to get back to bed."

"You sure?" Boone asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Thanks, though."

"Yeah. Let me help you back."

Though Scarlett wanted to protest, Boone wasn't going to give her the chance. He draped her arm across his shoulders and put his arm around her waist, holding her up as she hobbled along until they finally reached their destination.

"Oh, Scarlett!" Claire exclaimed when she saw her. "What happened?"

"I fell," Scarlett replied, grinning.

"Oh!" Claire exclaimed. "Do we want to get Jack to look at it?"

"No, I'll get him to do it in the morning," Scarlett replied. "I just want to sleep right now."

"Okay," Claire replied. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, answering the question that she felt like she had been asked at least twelve times, though it was really only three. She turned to Boone. "Thanks for the help. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Boone replied with a smile, and then he waved and moved off in the direction of his shelter.

"Charlie stopped by," Claire said. "He was wondering how you were doing. He said he saw you fall. He fell too. It looked pretty bad. He's going to get Jack to fix it."

She was just making small talk, but Scarlett saw a little smile on her face.

"Oh? Poor guy," she said, smiling as well. "I'll check up on him tomorrow."

"Oh. Yeah, good," Claire replied, nodding. "Well…night."

"Night," Scarlett replied, lying down in her spot. Almost as soon as her head hit the little flight-pillow, she was fast asleep.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

Scarlett's past becomes clearer….

"_Since when do you tell me what to do?"_

_"Since forever. Now put the book away and turn out the light."_

_Anthony closed the door behind him. Scarlett growled under her breath and threw the book against the wall. It was hopeless. There was no way she was getting out of it. She was going back to Stephen. The thought made her nearly want to scream. And yet…it couldn't have made her happier..._

…While the castaways are faced with a problem…

_"Jethro here's hoarding the last of the peanuts," Hurley said, pointing an accusing finger at Sawyer._

_"My own stash!" Sawyer exclaimed. "I found it in there."_

_"What about the rest of the food?" Jack asked calmly._

_"There is no rest of the food, dude. We kind of…ate it all."_

…and Shannon shows some interest in Scarlett…

_"What's that girl's name?"_

_She pointed to Scarlett, who was stretched out on her stomach again, idly twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she read._

_"That's Scarlett. Meyers, I think. You spent almost two days with her. How can you not remember her name?" Shannon glared. "Why'd you want to know, Shan?"_

_"I don't know," Shannon said nonchalantly. "Just wondering."_

_Boone frowned and looked at Shannon warningly._

_"Leave her alone, okay?" he said. "Don't bother her."

* * *

_

(I told you it would be cheesy!)


	13. Walkabout Part 3

Here's the next part! I bet you're getting excited! Why? Because the finale is on soon! dies Yet…it will also be slightly sad :(

Please review! I love reviews! You know it!

Trailer at the end again. Author's notes next time. I promise!

* * *

**Walkabout (3): **Mr. Locke and his 400 knives

The next morning, Scarlett awoke rather early. She found Claire gone, and her ankle throbbing much more painfully than it had been before. She groaned and sat up, rolling up the leg of her jeans.

She winced when she saw how swollen it was. And purple. Not to mention disgusting. She did _not _look forward to walking on it.

"Mornin' Sox," said Sawyer suddenly, crouching down in front of her. He held out his hand, which had two Ibuprofin tablets held in it. "For the ankle."

"How'd you know?" Scarlett asked, standing up painfully. Sawyer stood up as well as she took the tablets, and he handed her a water.

"Like anyone could miss the limping you were doing," he replied, rolling his eyes.

That reminded Scarlett of the preceding night, and how Sawyer had practically jumped down Boone's throat when they were joking around. She took the tablets slowly and swallowed them, then handed Sawyer back his water.

"Thanks," she said. "Speaking of last night…what was that all about with Boone?"

"I thought you two were arguing," Sawyer replied simply. Scarlett gave him a knowing look.

"Sawyer, there is nothing going on between Boone and I, and, may I remind you that there is nothing going on between you and I either. Is there anything wrong with being just friends?"

"No," Sawyer grumbled, though his tone indicated that he didn't really believe in the answer he was giving.

"Sawyer?"

"Yeah?"

Scarlett sighed and laughed slightly, rolling her eyes.

"You are so _difficult_," she said. "Sawyer, you are a really nice guy who, don't argue…has been really good to me so far, and I appreciate it. I really do. But that doesn't mean we're going to fuck at the next chance we get."

The guilty expression on Sawyer's face said that that was exactly what he wanted, though he tried to deny it. Scarlett wasn't surprised.

"That's not what I was getting at…" he said, but Scarlett shook her head.

"Liar," she pronounced, grinning at him. He glared at her, but then sighed.

"So just friends," he said thoughtfully.

"Just friends," Scarlett replied, holding out a hand.

"I ain't ever had a woman friend before," he remarked after a pause.

"There's a first time for everything," Scarlett retorted. Sawyer laughed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah," he replied. "I guess you're right."

"I am right," Scarlett said proudly. Sawyer laughed again.

"All right," he said. "Just friends."

He stuck out his hand and Scarlett took it, shaking it with a smile. She knew that Sawyer wasn't going to stick to the 'just friends' pact. Men like him never could. But it was worth a try.

* * *

Scarlett hobbled up to Jack.

"Hey," she said to him just as he was getting ready to walk off somewhere.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Last night I fell and twisted my ankle," Scarlett replied. "At least…I think I twisted it. Could you look at it for me, you know, to just make sure it's okay?"

"Yeah," Jack said, surprisingly calm and not sounding at all obligated. Scarlett sat down and rolled up her pant leg. Jack bent down to look at it, prodding it gently. Scarlett winced slightly. "Definitely a twist," he said. "A bad one, but it should be okay. You just might want to rest it for a while."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding. "I just hope someone tells Randy that."

She laughed, but Jack just looked confused.

"Randy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Randy. He's this guy who's been bossing everyone around and forcing them to work."

"Really?" Jack asked. "Where is he?"

Scarlett turned and searched the crash site behind her. She didn't have any difficulty seeing him. He was standing over Joanna as she poked through the fire, saying something to her with a sneer on his face.

"There," she said, pointing. Jack looked and stood up. He didn't bother to offer her a hand.

"You just rest that ankle. I'll go talk to him."

Scarlett nodded and managed to get up on her own as Jack moved down the beach. Then, she slowly started hobbling back to her 'shelter' where she noticed that the tarp over the metal was starting to come loose. She would fix that later.

She grabbed a blanket out of the shelter and a book that had been in her bag (Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault). Then, she made her way down to a secluded part of the beach and lay down on her stomach, opening the book to where she had left off…

* * *

_"What the fuck are you doing?"_

_"Reading."_

_"Go to bed. We're leaving early tomorrow."_

_"Since when do you tell me what to do?"_

_"Since forever. Now put the book away and turn out the light."_

_Anthony closed the door behind him. Scarlett growled under her breath and threw the book against the wall. It was hopeless. There was no way she was getting out of it. She was going back to Stephen. The thought made her nearly want to scream. And yet…it couldn't have made her happier...

* * *

_

After a while, Scarlett became aware of some yelling. She looked up and saw Hurley and Sawyer fighting in the middle of a crowd near the fuselage. She staggered to her feet and ran as fast as she could (which, admittedly, wasn't very fast with her ankle) towards the scuffle.

She reached it the same moment that Boone did. He stepped into the middle of the fight and held up his hands.

"Hey! Knock it off!" he said. Sawyer glared daggers at him, but Boone didn't back down.

"Stay out of this, metro," he growled.

Jack and Sayid showed up, splitting apart the odd pair of combatants.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, practically shoving Boone out of the way. Boone looked pretty pissed off, but he didn't say anything. He stood next to Scarlett, glaring at the fight.

"Jethro here's hoarding the last of the peanuts," Hurley said, pointing an accusing finger at Sawyer.

"My own stash!" Sawyer exclaimed. "I found it in there."

"What about the rest of the food?" Jack asked calmly.

"There is no rest of the food, dude. We kind of…ate it all," was Hurley's reply.

The immediate reaction was one of shock.

"What?" Shannon asked incredulously. Scarlett felt herself feeling sick.

"Okay everybody, just calm down," Jack said, reclaiming his leadership role rather quickly.

"We can find food," Sayid said quickly. "There are plenty of things on this island we can use for sustenance."

Sawyer made a big show of rolling his eyes and flopping down into an airplane seat.

"And exactly how are we going to find this sustenance?" he asked. Before anyone could answer, a knife flew out of nowhere, hitting the seat next to Sawyer's with a pinging noise. Scarlett inhaled sharply and whipped her head to the left to see who had thrown it. It was Locke. Everyone looked at him with surprise, waiting for him to speak.

"We hunt," Locke said simply.

Jack walked over and pulled the knife out of the back of the airplane seat.

"How'd you get that knife on the plane?" Kate asked slowly.

"Checked it," Locke replied calmly.

Jack handed the knife back to Locke, looking slightly wary, as if Locke was going to just lunge out and kill him with it.

"You either have very good aim, or very bad aim, Mr…"

He trailed off, looking embarrassed as he realized that he didn't know Locke's name.

"Locke," Michael supplied, looking angry. "His name is Locke."

"Okay, Mr. Locke," Jack said calmly. "What is it that we're hunting?"

"We know there are wild boar on the island," Locke said with absolutely no emotion. Scarlett found herself sharing an amazed glance with Sawyer. "Razorbacks, by the look of them. The ones that came into the camp last night were piglets. One hundred…one hundred and fifty pounds each. Which means that there's a mother nearby." Scarlett found herself unconsciously backing away from Locke. Boone, who happened to be standing closest to the man, looked extremely uncomfortable. "A two hundred and fifty pound rat, with scimitar-like tusks, and a surly disposition, who'd love nothing more than the eviscerate anything that comes near. Boar's usual mode of attack is to circle around and come from behind, so I figure it'll take at least…three of is to distract her long enough for me to flank one of the piglets, pin it, and slit it's throat."

After Locke's speech, there was a long, shocked silence. Everyone just stared at the man as if he had grown another set of arms. Of course, Sawyer was always reliable to break the silences with some witty comment.

"And you gave him his knife back?" he asked Jack. Jack turned to him, looking extremely pissed off.

"Well, if you've got a better idea…" he said, as if the fact that the food was gone was all Sawyer's fault.

"Better than three of you wandering into the magic forest to bag a hunk of ham with nothing but a little bitty hunting knife? Hell no, it's the best idea I've ever heard."

A few people murmured agreements with Sawyer; that it did seem a little dangerous. Everyone else, including Jack, just turned away.

Locke just bent down to a silver case that was lying on the ground close by. He fiddled around with it for a few moments and then opened it. Inside were a bunch of knives. Everyone stared at it as if it contained the jungle monster itself.

"Who is this guy?" Hurley asked shakily.

* * *

It was decided that Kate and Michael were going to go with Locke on the little hunting expedition. Scarlett wanted no part of it. She knew that she was never going to be able to distract a fully-grown boar with her twisted ankle. That and she wasn't exactly up for the idea of having a boar hunt her down in the first place.

Instead, she wandered back to her blanket and opened her book again. She just hoped that another fight didn't interrupt her reading. The book was getting good. She took off her socks and shoes and laid them over to the side, so her wounded, swollen ankle wouldn't be squished, and she rolled up her pant legs to get comfortable.

She didn't know how long she was sitting there, but Boone eventually showed up, smiling.

"Hey," he said, sitting down in front of her. "I haven't talked to you all day."

"I know," Scarlett said, putting down the book and sitting up. "I was at the little…fight though."

Boone shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"God, that Sawyer…" he growled. Scarlett gave him a warning look. He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded like he meant it. "But the guy's just…completely out of hand. He's rude to _everyone_."

"He's not rude to me," Scarlett said pointedly.

"That's because you're a girl," Boone said pointedly. "You have breasts; he's nice to you."

Scarlett laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure that's the reason he's nice," she said sarcastically. "I'm sure that's the _only _reason. I won't deny that it's one of them."

"He does it to Kate too, but you're the only one who actually responds to it. I think he likes you somewhat better than her, because you're actually nice to him. I actually think you're the _only_ person on this _entire_ island who is nice to him."

"Well, I guess that means I'm a nice person, doesn't it," Scarlett replied with a smile.

"Either that or you're just an idiot," Boone retorted, but it was obvious he was joking. He happened to look down at her ankle. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. Then he said, sarcastically, "Oh, that's okay. Perfectly fine. Not hurt at all."

"It's not that bad," Scarlett replied, laughing. "It's fine!"

"It _looks _bad," Boone responded, shaking his head. "If Shannon had an injury like that…God, I don't think she would have stopped complaining from last night to now."

"Well then I guess you're lucky it was me and not her," Scarlett replied. Boone shrugged.

"I wouldn't say _lucky_," he said. "Now you can't help me with the clothes, and Stephanie's going to want to do it. So, you see," he said while standing up, arching one eyebrow adorably. "It's kind of a lose-lose situation."

"I could help you with the clothes," Scarlett said, shrugging.

"No," Boone said pointedly. "You have to rest your leg."

Scarlett was going to argue, but Boone left after a quick goodbye and a pat on the shoulder. She sighed and was about to argue with him, but then she decided against it. Something was bothering him and she had a feeling that the poor guy needed her to leave him alone. She bugged him enough as it was.

* * *

Boone walked towards the pile of clothes, sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, obviously, with the boars. But then after that he hadn't been able to get much sleep either.

"Boone?" came Shannon's voice from over to his left. He sighed and walked up to her slowly.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What's that girl's name?"

She pointed to Scarlett, who was stretched out on her stomach again, idly twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she read.

"That's Scarlett. Meyers, I think. You spent almost two days with her. How can you not remember her name?" Shannon glared. "Why'd you want to know, Shan?"

"I don't know," Shannon said nonchalantly. "Just wondering."

Boone frowned and looked at Shannon warningly.

"Leave her alone, okay?" he said. "Don't bother her."

"Who said I was going to bother her, asshole? I just wanted to know who she was."

"Yeah, sure," Boone said sarcastically, before he turned and walked away.

Shannon stayed there, looking after him with a scowl on her face. Then, she turned back and looked at Scarlett. After a pause, she stood up and turned around to make sure Boone was gone. Then she slowly started towards the other girl.

* * *

Next Chapter….

Shannon gets suspicious…

_Shannon didn't make a move to sit down. She just looked down at Scarlett with that judging and calculating stare that she had used earlier. _

_"Um…I just came over to talk. About…well, Boone."_

_"Oh?" Scarlett asked, having a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to enjoy the conversation that was going to follow. _

_"I just wanna know, you know, what's going on between you two," Shannon said, trying to act casual._

_"Nothing," Scarlett said, trying hard not to let her frustration show in her voice. "No, nothing. We just met, after all. We're just friends."_

_"But do you think that something could happen?" Shannon asked with some forcefulness._

…Claire has an idea…

_"I was just talking to Jack about a memorial service."_

_"Oh, after the burning?" Scarlett asked, referring to the burning of the bodies in the fuselage. _

_"Yeah," Claire said, shrugging. _

_"That's a really cool idea," Scarlett said._

_"Jack didn't want to have a part in it," Claire said, shrugging. "I don't know why…it kind of seemed like the type of thing he'd be interesting in doing. Oh well. I'm just going to do it myself, then."_

_"That sounds like a good idea," Scarlett said. "I'll help you if you want."_

_"Yeah," Claire said with a smile, her face brightening up. "Yeah, you can do that. That would be cool."_

…and Scarlett receives a mysterious letter…

_Claire was shifting through some stuff when suddenly she gasped. "What is it?" Scarlett asked, immediately thinking of the baby._

_"Um…" Claire said, wincing and holding out a letter. Scarlett saw, with horror, that it was addressed to her. But, as she looked closer, she realized that she had never seen it before. She took it and examined it closely. _

_"Who's it from?" Boone asked, making a concerned face that involved his eyebrows wiggling slightly. Scarlett would have laughed, but she was too focused on looking at the letter._

_"I don't know," she replied. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never seen it before…"_

_She sighed and opened it slowly. The letter was folded and tucked into the envelope carefully. She gently opened up the letter and laid the envelope aside. Leaning back against the metal behind her, she slowly began to read._


	14. Walkabout Part 4

Yes! Here it is!

SAWYER! OMG, did anyone else cry? I know I did! If they kill off Sawyer, I swear to God….

Ugh. Anyway, here's the next part! Please review! I love reviews more than anything! Thanks to all of those who DID review…

**Dark-Angel206-**You missed the first half of the finale? You failure at life! Haha, just kidding. You can always download it. That's what I do. Lol, going back in time would work too! Thanks for the review! Much love!

**Saraiyu- **I'm seriously going insane thinking about what will happen to Sawyer! If they kill him, I will be at a loss. My two favorite characters will have died. What then? Arrggh! Thanks for the review! It made my waiting easier, lol. And for the letter…just read ahead! Thanks a bunch again! Kisses!

Monica- Here's your wish! Next part! Thanks for the review, and I'm really glad you loved it! Hugs! 

**Anna- **I'm glad you think I'm awesome, lol! Here's the update! Thanks again. I love reviews! Love to you too!

On to the story!…

* * *

**Walkabout (4): **The Letter and the Memorial Service

"Hi."

Scarlett looked up and saw Shannon standing over her, her face expressionless.

"Hey," she replied, sitting up. Shannon didn't make a move to sit down. She just looked at Scarlett with that judging and calculating stare that she had used earlier when Scarlett had been sitting with Claire.

"Um…I just came over to talk. About…well, Boone."

"Oh?" Scarlett asked, having a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to enjoy the conversation that was to follow.

"I just wanna know, you know, what's going on between you two," Shannon said, trying to act casual.

"Nothing," Scarlett said, trying hard not to let her frustration show in her voice. "No, nothing. We just met, after all. We're just friends."

"But do you think that something _could _happen?" Shannon asked with some forcefulness.

"Not right now," Scarlett said patiently, not sure exactly what answer would make Shannon happy, so going with something in between. "I'm not known for having good relationships."

Shannon smiled sadly and finally sat down, looking at Scarlett for the first time as if she was really talking to a human being.

"I'm the same way," she said slowly. "I just…I don't have much luck, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do," Scarlett replied with a small smile. Shannon smiled as well, and Scarlett noticed that she had a pretty smile. Too bad she didn't do it all that often.

"So you really don't think there's going to be anything between you and Boone?" Shannon asked, still with a smile.

"No, not at all," Scarlett replied. "We're just friends."

"Okay," Shannon said with a relieved laugh.

"Why?" Scarlett asked. "What's wrong with Boone."

"Nothing much," Shannon replied. "I mean…the guy _is _perfect. He's just not the best person with relationships. He falls too hard, too fast."

"Good thing we're just friends then, huh?" Scarlett said with a smile, driving the point home to the blonde girl.

"Yeah," Shannon said thoughtfully. "Good thing."

* * *

After a few more minutes of pleasant chit-chat, and after Scarlett decided that Shannon wasn't all that bad, the two girls went their separate ways. Shannon went back to tanning, and Scarlett hobbled off to find Claire.

She found the pregnant girl looking very defeated as she walked away from Jack. Jack was looking down at something and fiddling with it.

"Hey, Claire," Scarlett said, the question in her voice asking what was wrong.

"Hey," Claire replied, smiling nervously. "I was just talking to Jack about a memorial service."

"Oh, after the burning?" Scarlett asked, referring to the burning of the bodies in the fuselage.

"Yeah," Claire said, shrugging.

"That's a really cool idea," Scarlett said.

"Jack didn't want to have a part in it," Claire said, shrugging. "I don't know why…it kind of seemed like the type of thing he'd be interesting in doing. Oh well. I'm just going to do it myself, then."

"That sounds like a good idea," Scarlett said. "I'll help you if you want."

"Yeah," Claire said with a smile, her face brightening up. "Yeah, you can do that. That would be cool."

"Good," Scarlett said. "You need help with anything?"

"I guess just going through all the belongings to see what we can get for information for the ceremony," Claire replied, sounding grateful.

"All right," Scarlett replied. "I can do that, even with my ankle."

She laughed slightly, and Claire laughed as well.

"How is that ankle of yours, anyway?" she asked. "How does it look?"

"Not good," Scarlett replied, lifting her pant leg to show Claire. The pregnant girl winced.

"Ouch," she said. "How about we head over to where all the belongings are, and I pass you stuff and you can sort it. No moving involved."

"Sounds lovely," Scarlett replied with a laugh, and they started off towards the piles of belongings.

* * *

Scarlett spent the next few hours sitting on the ground comfortably, with Claire and Boone to keep her company. Boone had escaped clothes-sorting duty with Stephanie, (which he said was like Hell, only worse,) to help Claire and Scarlett with the passports and other things. Sawyer stopped by at one point to give Claire some wallets. He didn't even look at Scarlett or Boone. Scarlett felt like reminding him very loudly that being friends meant that they could actually talk, but she didn't. She had a feeling that he wouldn't appreciate it.

At one point, she almost got up to go talk to him, but in the end she didn't. If he wanted to be a royal ass, she'd let him, and would spend time with people who actually appeared to care. Though…she _did _think Sawyer cared. She just wasn't sure he knew how to express it. Really, she just didn't feel like dealing with his lack of expression. That was it.

But hanging out with Boone and Claire all day wasn't exactly lacking in the fun department. As soon as the two women started expressing their sadness about the lost lives, Boone decided to cheer them up by posing for pictures. Giggling hysterically, they found it extremely hard to concentrate on their work, and whenever they started getting too somber, Boone would flash one of the pictures of him lying in the sand in a decidedly sexy pose, and they would collapse once again, all laughter and happiness.

Randy almost headed over to them a few times, but then he always turned away, looking extremely angry. That always sent them into a fit of giggles again. Scarlett was glad she had said something to Jack.

"Stupid kids," she growled in a very Randy-like voice.

"Laughing? Do I hear laughing?" Boone followed. "You're not supposed to be _laughing_, you're supposed to be _working_! What is this, a carnival?"

Claire and Scarlett both laughed uncontrollably, trying to at least stifle their loud giggles from some of the older people who were standing nearby, staring at them.

"Shh," Claire hushed in between waves of laughter.

"Boone, that was good," Scarlett laughed. He had sounded nearly exactly like Randy, right down to the narrowed eyes, bobbing head, and the allusions to a carnival.

"Thanks," Boone said abashedly.

"Will you kids quiet down?" asked a voice from beside them. It was a woman who looked around forty to forty-five. "It's very disrespectful of you guys to be so loud."

"We're just talking," Scarlett said defensively. "And having fun. We haven't had much of that lately."

"I know," the woman said, trying to sound sympathetic. "But it's just…while planning a memorial service, don't you think you should have at least the…_decency _to be sad?"

Boone coughed slightly and then spoke up.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But you have to understand that these people are gone, and we're here. As heartrending as it is that they're gone, we're not going to put our lives completely on hold to memorialize theirs. I understand that some of you here lost someone, and I understand that you want respect, and I sympathize completely. And we _are_ showing them respect by doing this service. But does that mean that we can't still talk and have fun at the same time? I don't think it does."

Scarlett and Claire both stared at Boone, nodding appreciatively. The woman just bowed her head, seemingly in surrender. Without another word, she turned and walked back to where she had been sitting before.

"Nice job," Scarlett said, looking at him with respect.

"Yeah," Boone said, shrugging. "I don't know. I mean…I hate how people seem to think that laughing is a sin on this island. We've been here for what…five days now? God, if we all walked around like zombies mourning these people who are gone, we'd all end up killing ourselves. Do they really want that?"

"Apparently," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. Claire was shifting through some stuff when suddenly she gasped. "What is it?" Scarlett asked, immediately thinking of the baby.

"Um…" Claire said, wincing and holding out a letter. Scarlett saw that it was addressed to her. But, as she looked closer, she realized that she had never seen it before. She took it and examined it closely.

"Who's it from?" Boone asked, making a concerned face that involved his eyebrows wiggling slightly. Scarlett would have laughed, but she was too focused on looking at the letter.

"I don't know," she replied. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never seen it before…"

She sighed and opened it slowly. The letter was folded and tucked into the envelope carefully. She gently opened up the letter and laid the envelope aside. Leaning back against the metal behind her, she slowly began to read.

* * *

_Dear Ms. Meyers,_

_My attention has been brought to your misfortune by a good friend of mine from college, Carol Anderson. Ms. Anderson has informed me of the abuse inflicted upon you by a man named Stephen Martin. You don't know me, but I can help you. As soon as you get this letter, I'll know, and I'll be there to talk to you about it. Please consider taking me up on this offer. You don't have to live in fear for the rest of your life. I can help you._

_J.T.

* * *

_

Scarlett frowned and read the letter quickly again. Boone was staring at her with the question written plainly on his face. Claire was pretending that she wasn't completely curious, but she was failing miserably. Scarlett stared at the last two initials, trying to remember if Carol had ever mentioned a friend with those initials. She couldn't remember anyone at all.

"Is something the matter?" Boone asked her with concern.

"Not really," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "I'm just…confused, I guess."

"Well…what did the letter say?" he asked, shifting his position so he was leaning beside her, one arm propping him up in the sand, his stomach practically touching her arm, which was using itself to steady her in the sand. She subtly inched her arm away slightly, feeling cramped and lightheaded. Boone just craned his neck to see. She handed the letter to him wordlessly. He read it, his brow furrowed and he looked up at her confusedly. Scarlett handed the letter to Claire next. "That's the Carol you were telling me about the other day, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, shaking her head. "I just can't figure this out. I don't _know_ this guy."

"Who's Stephen Martin?" Boone asked, looking up at her. "And what abuse is he talking about?"

"Nothing important," Scarlett muttered. Claire handed her back the letter and gazed at her sadly.

"Oh, Scarlett," she exclaimed tearfully, and she wrapped her arms around her friend's neck in a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry, Scarlett."

"For what?" Scarlett asked with confusion, as Boone looked on sadly.

"I don't know if it's mothers instinct or what, but you are _so_ not telling us the whole story. I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but just know that I'm here whenever you do."

"Yeah, me too," Boone said, looking slightly dejected. "I might not have a…mother's instinct," he smirked sadly, which made Scarlett smile through her gathering tears, "but I'm pretty good at listening."

"Thanks," Scarlett said. "Both of you. Really, I mean it so much. Thank you."

"No problem," Claire replied, hugging Scarlett again. Boone patted her arm awkwardly. Scarlett smiled at both of them and tucked her letter into her sweatshirt, which lay behind her.

And they all went back to work like nothing had happened, but Scarlett just couldn't stop thinking.

* * *

A few hours later, Kate and Michael came out of the woods. Michael looked pretty hurt. Boone went off to talk to Shannon, and came back about twenty minutes later telling them that Locke was supposed to be with them. Since he wasn't there, and the two others hadn't come back with anything to eat, Scarlett could only assume that something had happened to him.

However, about an hour or two later, Jack and Kate showed up with him and a massive boar. Scarlett and Claire just continued to work with Boone. Joanna showed up at one point, and Stephanie made an appearance before quickly vanishing, but other than that it was just the three of them talking about all sorts of things, from high school to decorating to traveling to foreign countries. For hours upon hours they sat there and worked until they couldn't see anymore. Then they finally had enough stuff for the memorial service.

* * *

When it got dark enough out that Jack was ready to light the fuselage on fire, everyone joined in the burning. Then Hurley stood on one side of Claire, and Boone stood on the other, as she started reading off the names and all the information that they had managed to gather about them.

Scarlett was standing and watching the ceremony when Sawyer suddenly appeared beside her.

"Hey, Sox," he said with a friendly smile.

"Hey," Scarlett replied, smiling at him. "I wasn't sure you'd come for this."

"Why not?" Sawyer asked, shrugging. "I have nothing better to do. Besides, everyone knows that funerals are great for picking up women."

Scarlett scoffed incredulously.

"I hope you're kidding," she said, shaking her head. Sawyer just grinned at her and shrugged.

"Maybe I am," he said. "But then again…maybe I'm not.

"You're such a jerk," Scarlett growled, playfully shoving him.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer said sarcastically. "What was that?"

"You're the sweetest man alive," Scarlett said, her voice oozing honey sickeningly. Sawyer laughed and fell silent, watching the ceremony for a few moments. Then, he turned to Scarlett again.

"You think Kate and Jack have something going on?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Kate and Jack? Hell yes! _Everyone_ thinks that they have something going on."

"Oh. Yeah, I figured."

"Looks like someone's a little jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I was just wondering."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at Sawyer and turned back to look at the ceremony. Sawyer muttered something under his breath.

"Jealous," Scarlett said suddenly.

"Am not," Sawyer retorted. Scarlett just smiled again and shook her head.

"You are _such _a bad liar," she commented.

"I'm not lying," Sawyer replied with exasperation.

"Oh, of course not," Scarlett said with just the slightest amount of sarcasm. "No. Not at all. Not you. Never."

Sawyer growled and fell silent.

"There's nothing _wrong _with being jealous," Scarlett said innocently. "You just _are_."

Sawyer just growled something that was probably "am not" or something similar, and then walked away swiftly before she could say anything. She just smiled again, laughed a little, and returned to staring at the fire and imagining that Anthony's body was burning within it.

* * *

_"Why can't you save her? You're a _doctor_! That's what you're supposed to do! There has to be something! Anything!"_

_"Please, Scarlett, just calm down."_

_"You can't expect me to fucking calm down! She's my mother!" _

_"I'm sorry," the doctor replied, and he looked genuinely upset. "I really am, but there's just nothing I can do."_

_"Look, sir…"_

_"Call me Christian," the doctor said._

_"Fine. Christian. I don't care about the expense. I don't care about the ethical issues. I just want to know if there is _anything_ we can do. Anything at all."_

_"I'm sorry, Scarlett. There's nothing."

* * *

_

**Next Chapter….**

There's an emergency in the water…

_"Look, out there!" someone yelled. "There's someone out there!"_

_Scarlett looked where the shouter's finger pointed, and saw a splash in the distance, and the cry for help was repeated. With horror, Scarlett realized that the stranded swimmer was Joanna._

_"Help her!" she screamed as she tried to hobble down the beach, but found her ankle paining her even more than it had been before. Someone grabbed her arm. She tried to struggle, but she was pulled backwards, and an arm pulled her away from the water. When she looked to see who it was, she found herself staring into Boone's eyes. _

_"Don't worry," he said calmly, letting go of her and already moving towards the water. "I'll help her! I promise."_

…Boone thinks about Scarlett…

_Boone sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring out where he had last seen the woman splashing. He hadn't even known her name. He didn't know her. He had only talked to her once, when she came to talk to Scarlett when they were working on the memorial. He just knew that Scarlett had a friendship with her. He knew that Scarlett wanted her to be saved. And if Scarlett wanted it, then he would do it._

…and Scarlett has a horrifying nightmare…

_Suddenly, Sawyer flew out of nowhere and lunged at Anthony, punching him square in the jaw. As Scarlett watched, Sawyer slowly became Stephen, and he delivered Anthony a swift punch that knocked him onto his back. Stephen turned to Scarlett, eyes wide and black. _

_"Hurry," he said urgently. "There's not much time."_

_There was a noise over to her left. She turned her head to look and saw Boone stumbling into the clearing, clutching his side, which was oozing red with blood. He fell to the ground, but after a moment pushed himself back up to his hands and knees and managed to crawl to Scarlett's side. Stephen morphed back into Sawyer, and he looked at Boone angrily. _

_"You get away from her," he growled, but it was in Stephen's voice that he said the words. "She's mine."_

_Boone gasped for air, trying to say something, but not able to get it out. Scarlett looked closer and saw that his side was almost completely torn open. She gasped and tried to stand, but she found that she couldn't. _

_"Help," she begged Boone. "Please."_

_Boone nodded and struggled to his feet, grabbing her hand to pull her up. Suddenly, Sawyer collapsed to the ground, and when he stood up, he was Stephen again. _

_"I told you to get away from her!" he yelled furiously. _

_"Boone, look out!" Scarlett screamed, but Stephen had already tackled Boone. Somewhere, a baby started crying. _


	15. White Rabbit Part 1

Aaaaanddd here's the beginning of White Rabbit!

Thanks for the reviews, and please review again. It takes only like…a minute, and it makes my day like you don't even know!

For those who did review…

**Dark-Angel206: **Lucky you! Going back in time still would have been cool though, hahaha. Ugh, Sawyer…are they serious that we have to wait until _September_ to find out if he lives or dies? No fair! And, as to Scarlett, read on! Thanks for the review!

**Pink hardcore: **Thanks for the review! I try to make it better, haha. Hopefully it'll get even _better_!

**LillyAngel: **Hehe, yes, that would be Jack's dad. He'll be coming back later on too! Thanks for the review!

* * *

**White Rabbit (1): **Joanna

"Hey."

Scarlett looked up from where she was sitting. The person who approached her was standing somewhat in the sun, so she couldn't quite see who it was. They were just a big black outline.

"Hi," she said nonetheless, standing up so she could see who she was talking to. It was Joanna. "What's up?"

"I just came by to talk," Joanna replied. "I'm bored."

She laughed and took a seat next to Scarlett. Scarlett laughed as well and made some room for her.

"So how have you been holding up?" she asked seriously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Joanna said slowly. "I've been doing better, actually. You know, as stupid and selfish as this seems, I think that this whole thing might help my husband and I with our relationship."

"Oh?" Scarlett responded, prompting the other woman to continue.

"See…we haven't spoken in a while. I've been in Australia on my trip, and before that I was in Italy and then in Paris, traveling. He's been really busy with work, so he sends me on all these trips to keep me occupied…" She shook her head slightly. "I really love him, but lately…I don't know. I've had this really nagging suspicion about him."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked in reply.

"I think I might not…you know, be the only woman in his life."

"You think he's cheating on you?" Scarlett asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Joanna replied. "I haven't said anything to anyone yet, because I've been afraid that word would get back to him, and he would have never been doing anything in the first place, but it's just…I don't know, a suspicion."

"I understand," Scarlett replied soothingly. "I've had those. Trust me."

"Really?" Joanna asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, Scarlett answered. "I'm sure it will all work out fine. And you're probably right. This whole thing will most definitely bring the two of you closer together."

"Yeah…" Joanna said thoughtfully, smiling slightly. "Thanks."

"Hey, no problem," Scarlett replied. Joanna smiled and looked around, as if looking for something to do. She spotted the stack of pictures lying in Scarlett's suitcase. She squealed and grabbed them eagerly.

"Pictures?" she exclaimed. "Do you mind if I look?"

"Go ahead," Scarlett replied. Joanna took a look at the first one, which was a picture that Boone had taken of she and Claire hugging.

"These are from the island!" Joanna exclaimed.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "I have an instant developing camera with me."

"That's so awesome!" Joanna replied.

"Here, let's take a picture of us," Scarlett said. She looked around for anyone she knew and saw Walt standing nearby, talking to Vincent. "Walt!"

Walt turned to see who was talking to him, and saw her. He smiled and waved.

"Hi, Scarlett," he said.

"Hey, pal! You wanna take a picture of me and Joanna?"

"Sure," Walt replied shrugging. He pulled Vincent over and tied him to a tree nearby.

"You know how to work on of those things?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Walt replied. "My mom used to have one at home."

He raised the camera to his eyes, and Scarlett and Joanna both leaned into each other and smiled.

"Say cheese!" Walt exclaimed happily.

"Cheese!" replied Scarlett and Joanna. Walt took the picture, and a bright flash went off. Joanna blinked a few times. Scarlett, by this time, was used to it.

"Can I take a picture of you and Vincent now?" Scarlett asked, after thanking Walt with a big smile.

"Yeah!" Walt replied. "Take it of us playing fetch!"

"Sure," Scarlett laughed, as Joanna waited for the picture of the two of them to develop. Walt went a little ways down the beach and started playing fetch. Scarlett snapped the picture. "Thanks!" she called out to him. "You wanna see how it came out?"

"Yeah!" Walt said. He jogged over, Vincent in tow, and took a look at the picture, which was starting to show. "Hey, that's a pretty cool picture!"

"Yeah, it is," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "You want it?"

"No, that's okay," Walt said. "You should add it to your collection. You know, when we get rescued, you could write a book, and use those pictures."

"I could," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "You know…I think that's a wonderful idea Walt. I think I might do that."

Joanna laughed as Walt moved off, looking very happy.

"He's a cute kid," she said. Scarlett smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Really sweet, too."

"Yeah," Joanna replied, nodding.

"How'd the picture come out?" Scarlett asked. Joanna held it out. Scarlett made an 'awww' noise. "That's a cute one!"

"Yeah," Joanna sighed with a smile. "You know I'll be the first in line to buy your book when you write it."

"Thanks," Scarlett laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll have a huge part in it."

"Thanks," Joanna replied. "Though it might be a little odd reading my own name."

"I could change the names if you want…"

"Oh, no. I think it would be cool if someone recognized me from it or something. I'm just saying it'll be weird."

Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "I can see how that would be a little odd."

"Yeah," Joanna replied. They sat there in silence for a few more minutes, and then Joanna got up.

"I'm going to go for a swim," she said. "And when I'm done, I'll look at the rest of those pictures."

"Sure," Scarlett said, waving to the other as she moved off. "See you."

Joanna smiled and ran off down the beach, and Scarlett lay back on her blankets, propped her ankle up, and closed her eyes.

* * *

_"You can't do this! I hate you! I hate you!"_

_Scarlett's eyes flew open and she saw Claire and Sawyer standing near the woods, staring with eyes wide open. Scarlett got up and started to walk over to them when suddenly Shannon stopped her._

_"Don't go over there," she said fearfully._

_"Why not?" Scarlett asked nervously. _

_"You can't do this! Why are you doing this?"_

_Scarlett's head turned to the woods again. Claire was crying now. Sawyer yelled and ran into the woods furiously. _

_"What's going on?" Scarlett asked. "Who's in there?"_

_Shannon turned and looked at her, and Scarlett could see that now her eyes were black. _

_"Who do you think?" she asked, and then she turned and walked away.

* * *

_

"Help! Help!"

Scarlett's eyes flew open as she cry rang through the air. She sat straight up, gasping. Someone ran by her tent. She staggered to her feet and started towards where there was already a small crowd gathering.

"Look, out there!" someone yelled. "There's someone out there!"

Scarlett looked where the shouter's finger pointed, and saw a splash in the distance, and the cry for help was repeated. With horror, Scarlett realized that the stranded swimmer was Joanna.

"Help her!" she screamed as she tried to hobble down the beach, but found her ankle paining her even more than it had been before. Someone grabbed her arm. She tried to struggle, but she was pulled backwards, and an arm pulled her away from the water. When she looked to see who it was, she found herself staring into Boone's eyes.

"Don't worry," he said calmly, letting go of her and already moving towards the water. "I'll help her! I promise."

"Be careful!" Scarlett yelled as he started to rip off his shirt. Then, he dove into the water gracefully and started paddling out.

"Someone get Jack!" someone cried further down the beach. "Hurry!"

Scarlett frantically searched for Joanna again. She was still splashing. Scarlett was a good swimmer…but with her ankle…she didn't know how much she'd be able to take. Still…she wanted to take the risk.

She started limping towards the water with determination, but Sayid stopped her.

"Don't," he said. "You'd never make it out to her."

"I think I would," Scarlett said forcefully. "I think I could make it."

"No," Sayid said, grabbing her arm to keep her from going any further. "Boone has got her."

Boone was swimming strong, and was getting further and further out to sea. However, the current was bringing Joanna farther out, and Scarlett wasn't sure how much longer she could stay above the surface.

People started calling for Jack, wondering where he was. Kate hurried over to Scarlett and Sayid.

"I don't know where he is," she said. "Charlie went the other way down the beach…"

She broke off as Boone vanished, without warning, under the water. Scarlett screamed. Kate just gasped. Sayid watched with devastation clearly written on his face. People started screaming again. Scarlett looked at Sayid pleadingly. He just looked down at her.

"There's nothing you can do…" he started, but he didn't need to finish. Jack shot past the three of them and dove into the water, paddling over the rising waves furiously.

"Jack!" people started shouting. "It's Jack!"

Jack swam hard until he reached the spot where Boone had just vanished. He dove under and then resurfaced, holding nothing. Scarlett's hands clenched together tightly, and she felt tears springing to her eyes. Boone; sweet Boone. He just couldn't be dead. He _couldn't _be.

Jack dove under again, and Scarlett tried hard not to sob. She spotted Claire, mouth and eyes wide open, and she saw tears running down the other girl's face as well. Joanna still splashed on, screaming piteously for help.

"Someone help her!" Scarlett yelled. "She's still drowning!"

No one budged. No one moved. There were forty-three other survivors completely capable of swimming, except maybe Claire and Walt, which made forty-one. Why weren't they out there? Why were Jack and Boone the only ones who cared?

Suddenly, Jack appeared from beneath the surface, Boone in his arms. Scarlett's sobs broke loose, but this time from relief. Sayid heaved a huge sigh, and Kate wiped her eyes slightly, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.

Jack turned around to look at Joanna. He and Boone were talking. Jack started swimming back towards shore, pulling Boone with him. Scarlett ignored her ankle and practically ran down towards the water, with Kate right behind her. They reached the edge of the water at the same time as Boone and Jack. Jack dragged Boone up onto shore and practically threw him at Kate and Scarlett and Charlie. Charlie backed off, however, when he saw the distress on Scarlett's face. Both Kate and Scarlett grabbed Boone around the waist, his arms draped over their shoulders, as they dragged him away from the water. Jack started to go back in.

"Jack?" Kate asked, looking confused.

"There's someone else still out there," Jack replied, diving into the water again.

"Why isn't anyone else helping?" Scarlett asked angrily, looking accusatorily at everyone around her. They all backed away, turning to go stand on another part of the beach. "What the fuck are all of your problems?"

Kate looked at Scarlett sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not the best swimmer…"

"There has to be someone here who is besides Boone and Jack," Scarlett replied as she and Kate gently laid Boone to the ground. Scarlett knelt beside him, trying not to remember the dream in which she had done the same thing. "Boone? Boone, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Boone said in between gasps for air.

"Get him some water," Scarlett said, pushing Boone's wet hair back from his face.

"I have to save her," he growled, trying to stand back up. Scarlett pushed him back down with some firmness.

"You're not going anywhere," she said in reply. "Stay here. Jack's got her."

She looked back at the water. Jack was still swimming out, but he was slowing down. The splashing was continuing. And then…it just stopped.

* * *

He had failed. He had failed everyone. He _always _failed everyone.

Boone sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring out where he had last seen the woman splashing. He hadn't even known her name. He didn't know her. He had only talked to her once, when she came to talk to Scarlett when they were working on the memorial. He just knew that Scarlett had a friendship with her. He knew that Scarlett wanted her to be saved. And if Scarlett wanted it, then he would do it.

It wasn't like he would die for her or anything, though maybe he would. Scarlett was just a great friend, that was all. She was the only one on the island who really took the time to talk to him and not just dismiss him as a fuck up or a hopeless case. At least, she _had _treated him fine. He wasn't too sure what was going to happen to their friendship after this incident. He had failed her. He promised her that he was going to save her friend, and he didn't. If he was her…he probably wouldn't want to talk to him either. It was his fault the woman was gone. He might as well have put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

Jack should have left him there. That woman deserved to be saved way more than he did. She should have lived. It should have been him that died.

* * *

Scarlett sat in her shelter, looking at the picture of she and Joanna that she had taken only an hour before she had died. Only an hour. So little time…and now she would never see Joanna again. How impossible was that to fathom? Never seeing anyone again. She had dealt with it before in her life, with people much closer to her than Joanna was, but somehow…this was different. Maybe because the forty-eight survivors who had lived were now down to forty-six. First the marshal and now Joanna, and almost Boone…

Scarlett looked around the beach and saw him, just like she knew she would, sitting and staring out at the ocean. He still hadn't put his shirt back on. Scarlett had it. She had picked it up when she had gone out to get him, and had just never given it back. It was lying in front of her shelter, wrinkled and forgotten.

She picked it up and limped over to where he was sitting. She slowly took a seat beside him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye for a moment, and then looked back away. She didn't really know how to talk to him. He was upset, and she didn't know that there was anything she could do.

"Boone?" she said gently, putting her hand on his arm. He sighed and dropped his head between his knees.

"I'm sorry," he said coldly. Scarlett started in surprise. He sounded the same way he had in the dream.

"Don't be sorry," Scarlett said vehemently, shaking her head. "Boone, you were the only one that went into that water. Any of them could have gone in to help her, but you were the only one who cared enough to do it."

"But I…I failed," Boone said, biting his lip. He was refusing to meet Scarlett's eyes. "She died because of me. I tried…I tried to save her…"

He broke off and shook his head, drawing in a shuddering breath, and Scarlett realized that he was crying. He _was _trying to hide it, but it was so far unsuccessful.

"You tried as hard as you could," Scarlett said, and she found herself crying as well. "Boone, no one blames you."

"_I _blame me," Boone retorted.

"You shouldn't," Scarlett said quietly. "You shouldn't blame yourself because you were the _only _person who did something! You should be blaming everyone else. Boone…you nearly died yourself!"

"It should have been me," Boone said emotionlessly. "I should have died in her place. No one would have missed me."

Scarlett wiped the tears out of her eyes. She _had _been friends with Joanna, but, if the truth were to be told, she knew that she would have been far more upset if Boone had been the one to die.

"Boone…I know it sounds wrong and mean and completely…just a bitchy thing to say, but I would have been much sadder if it had been you to die."

Boone finally looked at her, surprise written on his face.

"You would?" he asked. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Boone, I was beyond upset when Joanna was drowning…but when you went under, I really think my heart stopped. You're such a great person, and every time I spend time with you, you make me forget where we are. You make me forget that we're out here. Boone, if you had died, I would still be back in my shelter, crying my eyes out…and I'm sure Claire would be too."

"Do you really mean that?" Boone asked quietly.

"Completely, with all my heart," Scarlett replied, and Boone could hear the honesty in her voice. He smiled sadly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I don't think I deserve someone like you telling me this," he said. "I don't deserve your comfort."

"You might not think so," Scarlett said, starting to stand up. Boone looked at her sadly. "But I wouldn't have come to talk to you if I had thought you didn't deserve it."

Boone sighed and looked back out at the ocean. Scarlett bent down and gave him a small, comforting hug, before she stood up and started walking away.

"I'll talk to you later," she said, stopping and turning back. "If you need anything…you know where to find me."

Boone didn't respond, but Scarlett knew that he had heard her. She continued limping back to her shelter, feeling even more upset and depressed than she had felt before.

* * *

"Excuse me…"

Scarlett looked up from the book she was reading to see Kate standing at the front of her shelter.

"Hey," she said, shutting the book.

"Are you all right?" Kate asked. "I saw you while I was walking by…you looked pretty upset."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling sadly. "I'm fine, I guess."

"Upset about what happened earlier?" Kate asked, taking a seat in front of the shelter in the sand. Scarlett joined her.

"Yeah," she said. "She was…one of my friends."

"From before the crash?" Kate asked with horror.

"No," Scarlett said quickly. "I met her after. But it's still hard to kind of…realize that she's not coming back." Scarlett paused, then added, "she…she wasn't supposed to be on the plane."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, sitting down beside Scarlett and looking at her intently.

"She was scuba diving," Scarlett began to explain. "She got an ear infection, and the doctor grounded her for two days. She bumped her flight and ended up here."

Kate looked down at the ground sadly, eyes out of focus.

"What was her name?" she asked. "I don't even know that."

"Her name was Joanna," Scarlett replied. "She never told me her last name."

* * *

Claire returned to the shelter sometime later, and the two of them just sat and talked about Joanna for a while, before they decided to just read and write. Scarlett pulled out her diary, which she hadn't written in since she was in Sydney with Anthony, and started writing. She wrote everything that she could remember, from the plane crash up until Joanna's death. There was a lot to write, so it was a good thing that Scarlett had a big diary.

Claire had a diary as well, and she wrote with it propped up on her belly. Sometimes, she would hum a song to herself as she wrote, and when Scarlett pointed it out, she would laugh and say that she didn't even realize that she was doing it. It was a great comfort to just sit there and write, not worrying about working or Randy or anything.

Though, in truth, Scarlett was worried about Boone. He was still sitting there on the beach, probably beating himself up about the whole thing, and going over what he could have done differently in his mind. She knew she probably would be doing the same thing, but she was worried nevertheless. After expressing her fear in her journal, she put it away and decided to take a nap.

* * *

"_Help! Help!"_

_Scarlett ran through the woods in the violent rain, swatting at the leaves that got in her way._

_"I'm coming!" she yelled. "Hold on!"_

_"Help! Please! Help me!"_

_Scarlett was suddenly shoved to the ground by something behind her. She rolled onto her back and looked up, horrified when she saw Anthony standing above her, looking like he had the day they took off from Sydney. _

_"You never saw me die," he said mockingly, dropping rose petals down on her body. As the rain fell, the petals melted, leaving a pool of red around her, staining her clothes. "Big mistake, ScarScar. You didn't see me die."_

_Scarlett screamed, trying to stand, but finding herself unable to move. Anthony forced her mouth open, and the rain began to fill it. She coughed and sputtered, but more water filled her lungs. She was choking, and she couldn't scream for help. _

_Suddenly, Sawyer flew out of nowhere and lunged at Anthony, punching him square in the jaw. As Scarlett watched, Sawyer slowly became Stephen, and he delivered Anthony a swift punch that knocked him onto his back. Stephen turned to Scarlett, eyes wide and black. _

_"Hurry," he said urgently. "There's not much time."_

_There was a noise over to her left. She turned her head to look and saw Boone stumbling into the clearing, clutching his side, which was oozing red with blood. He fell to the ground, but after a moment pushed himself back up to his hands and knees and managed to crawl to Scarlett's side. Stephen morphed back into Sawyer, and he looked at Boone angrily. _

_"You get away from her," he growled, but it was in Stephen's voice that he said the words. "She's mine."_

_Boone gasped for air, trying to say something, but not able to get it out. Scarlett looked closer and saw that his side was almost completely torn open. She gasped and tried to stand, but she found that she couldn't. _

_"Help," she begged Boone. "Please."_

_Boone nodded and struggled to his feet, grabbing her hand to pull her up. Suddenly, Sawyer collapsed to the ground, and when he stood up, he was Stephen again. _

_"I told you to get away from her!" he yelled furiously. _

_"Boone, look out!" Scarlett screamed, but Stephen had already tackled Boone. Somewhere, a baby started crying. _

_"Help!" screamed someone in the distance again. "Please, help!" _

_"Help!" Scarlett repeated, sobbing. "Please, help!"_

_Stephen continued to punch Boone, in the stomach, in the face, growling and yelling. Scarlett tried to sit up, and found herself suddenly able to move. She stood to her feet and looked at the fight with horror. Boone was staring at her, his eyes a brilliant white. _

_"I'm sorry," he said, as Stephen's fist connected with his stomach again. "I'm sorry." This time, it was his hip. "I'm sorry." And this time, his jaw. _

_"Stop!" Scarlett screamed. "Stop! Please, Stephen, stop!"_

_And then Stephen and Sawyer separated, and both stood in front of her, blocking Boone. _

_"Don't let him do this," Sawyer said desperately. "Don't let him take you."_

_"You know you love me," Stephen said with deadly calm. "You know you love me. Don't forget all we've been though. I love you, Scarlett. I love you so much…"_

_"Don't let him, Scarlett. You know he's done this before."_

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

_"I love you, my sweetheart, my darling. I just want another chance. You can do that, can't you?"_

_"You know he's lying! You know what he did to you! Think about the pain, Scarlett. Remember the pain! Don't let it go!"_

_"I wish I could put it all in the past. I wish everything could be all right. I just wish you could forgive me. That's all I want."_

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

_Anthony joined the line, further blocking her view of Boone, but Scarlett could still hear his haunting chant. _

_"You never saw me die, ScarScar."_

_"Why don't you want me? Why don't you see how much you mean to me? I'm nothing without you!"_

_"He's a liar, Scarlett. He's lying to you, and you know it. You can't believe him for one second! Don't let yourself be pulled into this again."_

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

_"I was in the bathroom, wasn't I? Or was I? Was I somewhere else. Was I walking back towards you at that very moment, and did I manage to get into a seat, get an oxygen mask. You don't know because you didn't see me. You didn't see me die."_

_"I know I hurt you. I know I made you cry so many times and you probably don't want me back…but you know that deep in your heart, you will always want me back."_

_"You have to fight him. You know he's wrong. You know what you really want. You know what you really need. And you know that neither of those things are him!"_

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

* * *

_

Next chapter….

Someone takes all the water…

_She turned and saw Charlie running towards her, out of breath. _

_"What is it?" she asked, arching an eyebrow in an unconscious imitation of Boone's Wiggly Eyebrow Face. _

_"Claire collapsed," he said. "And there's no water. I was wondering if you had any."_

_"Claire collapsed?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "Where is she?"_

_"Over there," Charlie replied, pointing. Scarlett saw the small tent and nodded. _

_"And there's no water?" she asked. "None?"_

_"None," Charlie affirmed. "Not a drop. Some git pinched it all."_

_"What?" Scarlett asked with a gasp. "Why would someone take it?"_

_"I dunno," Charlie said frantically. "There wasn't enough for all of us to begin with, and now there's definitely not enough."_

_"Oh my God," Scarlett said numbly. "Um…I have about a quarter of a bottle left. You can take that."_

_"Yeah, okay," Charlie said hurriedly, nodding. "Thanks."_

Scarlett and Boone talk…

_"A woman just died, Scarlett," Boone said quietly. _

_"A lot of people just died six days ago," Scarlett responded. "But like you said, we're allowed to have our fun. In fact, I think 'fun' is exactly what we need at the moment."_

_Boone sighed and ran his hand through his still slightly wet hair. _

_"I just…I could have saved her!"_

_"I know," Scarlett said soothingly. "You could have, and I know that you would have. You just…didn't make it out there."_

_"I was almost there," he said. "I felt so close…and then there was just…nothing. I felt myself go under. I tried to get back up, but I kept sinking. It was like I was being pulled under."_

_"Hey, I don't know much about oceans, but today the ocean was crazy. Riptide or something…?"_

_"Yeah," Boone said, smiling slightly at her lack of knowledge regarding water. "That was probably it. But I feel like I should have avoided it, you know? I should have been able to get around it."_

_"It's all right," Scarlett said, smiling sadly. "Boone, sometimes things happen that we just can't control. This was one of those things. You can't keep regretting it and looking back on it, thinking about what you could have done better. You have to just move on and get ready for the next curveball life throws at you. You don't want to spend your whole life thinking about this one incident, do you?"_

_"No," Boone murmured, looking at her as if just seeing her for the first time. _

And Scarlett finds herself becoming angry…

She found herself standing near Rose, as Charlie stood looking down at a stunned Boone, who had been pushed to the ground. Scarlett stepped forward to help her friend to his feet, but a glance from Rose stopped her.

_"Where'd he hide it?" Michael asked viciously. _

_"I dunno," Charlie said, shrugging. "This wanker had three bottles of it. Why'd you do it pretty boy. Eh?"_

_Boone stood up and looked around helplessly. When he saw Scarlett, standing behind Charlie a little ways, he looked at her pleadingly. _

_"It was just sitting…it was just sitting in the tent," he answered Charlie. "And Jack just took off."_

_"Claire could've died," Charlie said with disgust. _

_"I tried to give her some earlier, but it just got out of hand," Boone replied. "No one would have understood. _

_"What is going on?" Kate asked, walking up, passing next to Scarlett. _

_"Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never lasted," Boone said, still pleading. Though Scarlett saw the truth in his words, she found herself getting extremely pissed off. He should have let the water alone, so if it was an emergency, then it could be taken care of. Charlie was right. Claire could have died. _


	16. White Rabbit Part 2

All right…well, I figure it's time for an update! And here it is! Thanks for the reviews, guys! I was very excited! Haha! And please remember to review again, because that makes my day!

**Saraiyu: **I know, poor Boone :( I always felt bad for him in that episode, because he really _was _the only one trying to save her. Yeah, that was a really freaky dream, lol. Scarlett's got scary dreams! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dark-Angel206: **I really liked Joanna in my story too, because she would have had great potential for a cool backstory. I was sad that I had to kill her off. :( And yeah, I don't wanna wait either! Ahhh, it's driving me crazy! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Rockasoul: **Yay! Thanks for the review! I love Gone With the Wind as well. I was reading it for like the…fifth time when I was getting the idea for this story, so I named the character Scarlett and came up with the backstory to the name. Oh, and don't worry, the Sawyer/Scarlett action shall continue.

* * *

**White Rabbit (2): **The Water's Gone

Scarlett awoke with a jolt, gasping. Claire was no longer in the shelter. Scarlett sat there for a few moments, breathing heavily as fragments of the dream flashed through her mind. Like all dreams, it was choppy and unsure at first, but then slowly the pieces came back together to form the entire dream in her mind.

When she was younger, she used to have vivid, violent nightmares. Her mother used to tell her that they meant something, but Scarlett had never exactly been able to figure out exactly what. One time, however, she dreamed that she was on a boat in a red ocean during a storm, and her father was thrown overboard. The next day, he 'left'. Scarlett had always had a feeling that her dream was supposed to tell her about it, though another part of her told her that she was crazy.

But what could that dream possibly mean? She stood up and shook her head, trying to get rid of the images that flashed through her mind. She looked around and saw Kate, Sayid and Locke standing on the beach, talking with very serious expressions. Boone was sitting alone in the sand, this time at his shelter, staring at the ground. Sawyer was nowhere to be found. Neither was Claire. Scarlett sighed and stood up, moving towards Kate and the others. She didn't want to bother Boone. She figured that he could just use some time to himself. She also really wanted to know that they were talking about.

However, she never really got to find out exactly what they were saying, because she heard a familiar voice calling her name from over to her left. She turned and saw Charlie running towards her, out of breath.

"What is it?" she asked, arching an eyebrow in an unconscious imitation of Boone's Wiggly Eyebrow Face.

"Claire collapsed," he said. "And there's no water. I was wondering if you had any."

"Claire collapsed?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "Where is she?"

"Over there," Charlie replied, pointing. Scarlett saw the small tent and nodded.

"And there's _no _water?" she asked. "None?"

"None," Charlie affirmed. "Not a drop. Some git pinched it all."

"What?" Scarlett asked with a gasp. "Why would someone take it?"

"I dunno," Charlie said frantically. "There wasn't enough for all of us to begin with, and now there's _definitely _not enough."

"Oh my God," Scarlett said numbly. "Um…I have about a quarter of a bottle left. You can take that."

"Yeah, okay," Charlie said hurriedly, nodding. "Thanks."

Scarlett picked up the bottle and handed it to him. He thanked her profusely and started heading off towards Claire. Scarlett hobbled after him, but then at the last minute changed her mind. The last thing Claire needed was to be treated like a freak show. She could probably use her space. Scarlett decided she would go later. Just as she was considering going back to her shelter, she spotted Sawyer leaning against a seat nearby. She walked up to him, trying her best not to limp.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him.

"I told the little runt, and I'm telling you…I ain't got the water," Sawyer said pointedly, taking off his sunglasses and looking at her, waiting.

"I wasn't going to ask if you had the water," Scarlett said sweetly. "I just came to talk."

"About what?" Sawyer asked, closing the book he was reading and turning to face her.

"I don't know," Scarlett said, shrugging and sitting. "It beats being holed up in my shelter all day."

"Uh-huh. And why didn't you try and talk to Metro then? Seems the two of you got more going on then you'd like everyone to think."

"Sawyer," Scarlett growled dangerously. "I've told you so many times. We're just friends, just like me and you."

"Yeah, but you never brush my hair out of my face."

Scarlett almost laughed, but then she realized who she was talking to, and she didn't. So he had been watching her after Boone nearly drowned? What did he expect her to do, stand by and not care as her friend gasped for breath on the sand? Of course she was going to help!

"That's because you never swam out into the middle of the ocean to go rescue my friend," she replied. "Once you do that, I'll brush your hair out of your face any time you want."

"I don't know how many people you're expecting to be drowning around here," Sawyer said dryly, earning a smile from Scarlett. "But I do know that there is no way in Hell _I'm_ drowning."

"And how would you know that?" Scarlett asked with a sigh.

"Because, Sox, I ain't going anywhere near the water."

Scarlett laughed and nodded begrudgingly.

"All right," she said. "Fine. You win. But you want me to brush the hair out of your face, you better consider it."

"I'll think on it," Sawyer said thoughtfully. "But I ain't making any promises."

Scarlett laughed and shook her head. Sawyer looked at her carefully.

"You're sure you and pretty boy are just friends?" he asked.

"Sawyer, it's been six days!" Scarlett exclaimed. "We've only been here for six days, and you expect me and Boone to already be…involved?"

"It's called a hook-up sweet-cheeks," Sawyer replied. "You sure that ain't happening? Just some rolling in the sand, some sweet love beneath the stars?"

"And what gave you the impression that I was that kind of girl?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "Six days is a little fast."

"Not for me it ain't, sugar," Sawyer laughed.

"Well, for me it is," Scarlett replied. "In fact…three weeks is even too fast."

"You're one of those slow-moving types, ain't ya?" Sawyer asked, with a slow, lazy grin spreading across his face.

"Don't even start," Scarlett groaned, standing up again.

"Where are you going now?" Sawyer asked.

"Going to make love to Boone beneath the stars."

* * *

In reality, Scarlett went to see how Claire was doing. When she reached the tent, she heard Claire laughing. Charlie was sitting beside her little bed, laughing as well. When Claire saw Scarlett, she gave a little squeal of surprise.

"Scarlett!" she said, sounding very relaxed. "Hey, thanks for the water. Charlie said you got it for me."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding with a smile. "It was no big deal. It was half yours anyway, remember."

"True," Claire replied, smiling. "It was."

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Scarlett said.

"Thanks to Charlie, I'm doing wonderfully."

"Good," Scarlett said happily. "And don't worry. I'm sure they'll find some water soon."

"Yeah," Charlie said supportively. "Yeah, they will. No question. I mean…look at how much it rains around here! There's gotta be some ponds or rivers or something."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "And we've got the tarps set up around here, remember. Next time it rains, we'll have a ton of water, right?"

"Yeah, yeah we will," Charlie said quickly. "Excellent point. And I'm sure, you know, they'll…find something."

"Yeah," Scarlett said quickly. "They will. They will."

Claire smiled at the both of them and shook her head.

"Okay, you two," she said with a small chuckle. "I think I get the point."

Both Charlie and Scarlett shrugged and looked at one another with smiles.

"Water," Scarlett said, nodding.

"Yup," Charlie replied. Claire laughed, but suddenly grew serious.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Pretty good," Scarlett replied. "Boone…Boone's not doing too well though. He blames himself."

"Why?" Claire asked, making a face. "He was the only one in that water. He was the only one who did anything about it."

Charlie was looking uncomfortable. He sighed and looked at the ground sadly.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I…I actually don't know how to swim."

Claire looked at him incredulously.

"You don't?" she asked.

"Nope," Charlie replied, shaking his head. "Not a bit."

"Britain's an _island_," Claire exclaimed. "How could you not have swam at all?"

"I was always scared of the water," Charlie said with a small chuckle. "I'd never go into water that was too deep for me to stand in."

"Why?" Claire asked, obviously really interested in the story.

"My mum told me that when I was little, my puppy drowned in our swimming pool," he said. "I never went near it again. I guess the fear just stuck with me."

"That's terrible," Claire gasped. "So you really don't know how to swim?"

"No," Charlie said, shrugging. "I tried to, once, a couple of years ago, and I looked like a bloody buffoon. My brother, Liam, tried to get me to wear those orange things you float in, you know? And I got myself laughed out of the pool. That was the first and last time I ever went swimming. And it wasn't even swimming, really. It was…bobbing."

"The great Charlie Pace, bass player of Driveshaft, bobbing up and down in orange swimmies in a pool…now that's a sight I bet many fans would love to see," Scarlett said with a slow smile. "Hey, I should go. I just wanted to check up on you, Claire. I want to go see Boone now. Wanna try and talk him out of this depression stage he's going into."

"Yeah," Claire said, nodding. "Yeah, you should. The poor guy did everything he could…"

"Yeah," Scarlett said as Claire trailed off into a thoughtful silence. "Exactly. I want to make sure he knows that."

Claire and Charlie both agreed that it could do no harm, and then Scarlett moved off towards where Boone was sitting, glaring moodily out into the ocean.

* * *

At first, Scarlett was a little frightened to even sit down and chat with Boone. He seemed so…angry. But still, she figured that maybe having someone to talk to would help cheer him up a little.

She walked up to him and sat down, smiling at him cheerfully. He glanced at her, seeming surprised, but then looked back out at the ocean.

"Back?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, dropping the smile and stretching out luxuriously, just as Sawyer had stretched out when he was asking her about Stephen. "I didn't think you should be alone."

"Yeah?" Boone asked, looking at her again. "Why not?"

"Boone, anyone can see you're completely depressed. I thought you could use some cheering up."

"A woman just died, Scarlett," Boone said quietly.

"A lot of people just died six days ago," Scarlett responded. "But like you said, we're allowed to have our fun. In fact, I think 'fun' is exactly what we need at the moment."

Boone sighed and ran his hand through his still slightly wet hair.

"I just…I could have saved her!"

"I know," Scarlett said soothingly. "You could have, and I know that you would have. You just…didn't make it out there."

"I was almost there," he said. "I felt so close…and then there was just…nothing. I felt myself go under. I tried to get back up, but I kept sinking. It was like I was being pulled under."

"Hey, I don't know much about oceans, but today the ocean was crazy. Riptide or something…?"

"Yeah," Boone said, smiling slightly at her lack of knowledge regarding water. "That was probably it. But I feel like I should have avoided it, you know? I should have been able to get around it."

"It's all right," Scarlett said, smiling sadly. "Boone, sometimes things happen that we just can't control. This was one of those things. You can't keep regretting it and looking back on it, thinking about what you could have done better. You have to just move on and get ready for the next curveball life throws at you. You don't want to spend your whole life thinking about this one incident, do you?"

"No," Boone murmured, looking at her as if just seeing her for the first time.

"Come on, get up," Scarlett said, standing up and holding out her hands for Boone. He took them and she pulled him up, draping her arm across his shoulders. "Now," she said, looking around at the beach. "Let's go pay Claire a little visit."

"Claire?" Boone asked, looking at Scarlett's shelter. "Where is she?"

"You really were out of it, weren't you?" Scarlett asked with an incredulous laugh. "Claire fainted a while back. Don't worry, she's fine, but she's in that tent over there with Charlie right now. Someone took all the water, so there's not much for her, but we're doing what we can."

"Okay," Boone said slowly. Scarlett took her arm off his shoulders and shoved him in front of her.

"Come on," she said. "We need to get you away from the damn water!"

Boone almost laughed at her tone, but not quite. It was sort of a half-smirking exhale, but it gave Scarlett hope.

"All right," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I'm going!"

"Good," Scarlett said, laughing. "Move it!"

Boone actually laughed, then, and Scarlett felt like she had won some sort of victory. She laughed as well, and fell into step beside him.

They were quiet for a few moments, and then Boone looked at her out of the corner of his eye, clearing his throat.

"Um…" he said. "I know this is silly, but I just thought it was kind of funny…three people asked me yesterday if there was anything between you and I."

Scarlett laughed.

"You have no idea _how _many people have asked me the same thing," she said, shaking her head. "It's ridiculous."

"I know!" Boone exclaimed. "It's been six days!" I'm not _that _desperate for a relationship!"

"Exactly," Scarlett agreed, nodding. "Yeah, people are way too…assuming. They think whenever a guy and a girl get together as friends, that there's automatically something between them."

"Yeah," Boone said, shaking his head. "Oh well, I guess it gives people something to talk about. I'd watch out for Stephanie though. She seemed angry."

Scarlett laughed.

"I'd watch out for Sawyer," she said pointedly. "_He _seemed angry."

Boone made a face.

"Great," he muttered.

"Don't worry," Scarlett said with a laugh. "As long as I keep telling him there's nothing, then he won't even think about going near you."

"I hope not," Boone said, shaking his head.

By this time, they were at Claire's tent. Charlie and Claire looked up when they entered, extremely happy to see them. Scarlett liked the fact that the four of them were getting so close. It was very cute and fun.

She noticed that Boone seemed to be having fun too, as they played little silly games involving the other survivors.

"Okay, okay, I got one," Claire said, glancing mischievously at Scarlett. "Scarlett, Kate, or…Stephanie."

Boone made a face. Scarlett groaned.

"Claire, get me out of there!"she exclaimed. "Come on! That's not fair!"

"I'd probably marry Scarlett, have my way with Kate, and kill Stephanie," Charlie said with a wink in Scarlett's direction. Boone, after a pause said the same thing, sans the wink.

"Fine. Claire, Kate, and Stephanie," Scarlett said, laughing.

"Umm…same only replace Scarlett with Claire," Charlie replied. Boone agreed.

"How flattering," Claire said with a laugh.

They played that game for a while longer, before Claire got tired and wanted to rest. Charlie stayed with her, and Scarlett and Boone started walking down the beach. They were nearing Scarlett's shelter, and she was just about to suggest that they take a walk down the beach some more, when suddenly Stephanie popped up seemingly from nowhere.

"Boone!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her. Boone gave Scarlett a wide-eyed, helpless expression and mouthed the word 'help' before he was tugged away even further. "You were so brave, Boone. So brave…"

Scarlett laughed slightly under her breath as Stephanie smothered him with hugs, crying about how she was going to miss Joanna, and how Joanna was one of her closest friends on the island. Boone just stared at her, trying to comfort her while also trying to back away as quickly as he could.

She heard a chuckle from behind her, and she turned to see Sawyer, looking very amused at the sight of Stephanie and Boone.

"Looks like Pretty-boy just can't keep the ladies off of him, eh?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Scarlett laughed.

"Just Stephanie," she said, not catching the hint Sawyer was trying to throw at her.

"Apparently," Sawyer said. "I'd hate to be that poor guy."

"You'd love it," Scarlett scoffed. "Don't lie!"

"Hey, sweetheart, it's me. Am I a liar?"

"Probably," Scarlett replied in the same, mocking tone.

"Don't you start," Sawyer said, playfully pushing Scarlett slightly with his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna," Scarlett replied, looking back at Boone, who was awkwardly patting Stephanie on the back as she cried into his shoulder.

"I heard that ol' Jacko's gone missing," Sawyer said after a short lull in the conversation.

"What?" Scarlett asked.

"You didn't know?" Sawyer asked. "Eyebrows was tryin' to talk to him, and he just took off running into the woods."

"Eyebrows?" Scarlett asked with come confusion. Sawyer gestured to Boone. Scarlett sighed.

"You and your nicknames," she said. "It's so hard to keep everyone straight."

"You'll get used to it," Sawyer smirked.

"But Jack's gone? Why? Did anyone go to look for him?"

"That old guy with the knives went into the woods a while back. I don't know what he was doing…"

Sawyer shrugged. "Well, you and Metro have fun. I'm gonna go have a smoke."

Scarlett waved goodbye as Sawyer walked off towards the trees. Scarlett sighed and looked back to Boone and Stephanie, who were walking down the beach. Boone didn't seem to be resisting Stephanie at all. Scarlett figured that he had just given up. She felt bad, but she didn't want to chase after them and make Stephanie mad, so she just went back to her shelter, feeling dejected and worried.

After writing in her diary for a few minutes, she put it down and looked around, realizing that she had nothing to do. It was an odd feeling out there, on the island, the feeling of being bored. But there she was…

She sighed and laid back, resting and looking up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, and yet another day had gone by without rescue. Scarlett was starting to wonder, and, admittedly, hope, that no one was coming. Though, if she really thought about it, she would always change her mind and say that she would rather be rescued. She couldn't deny that feeling, however, deep in her heart, that being rescued was the last thing she wanted.

She sat there for a long time, just relaxing, the blanket pulled around her against the cool night air. She thought about a lot of things, mostly about Stephen and that letter Claire had found in the wreckage. She wondered if the man who had written it was still alive, or if he had died in the crash. She wondered if he had known that she was on the plane, or if it was just one big creepy coincidence. She wondered what he wanted to do to help, and if he still would after being lost on the island for six days.

She thought about that until it was completely dark out. She was really, _really _thirsty, and coincidentally, the skies were clear. She could only hope that they were gray in the morning, so it could finally rain and everyone could finally get their water.

Suddenly, she heard someone shout 'I got him', and a large crowd began to gather around Charlie's tent. She got up, bringing the blanket with her and wrapping it around her shoulders, and hurried over to the little crowd as quickly as she could.

She found herself standing near Rose, as Charlie stood looking down at a stunned Boone, who had been pushed to the ground. Scarlett stepped forward to help her friend to his feet, but a glance from Rose stopped her.

"Where'd he hide it?" Michael asked viciously.

"I dunno," Charlie said, shrugging. "This wanker had three bottles of it. Why'd you do it pretty boy. Eh?"

Boone stood up and looked around helplessly. When he saw Scarlett, standing behind Charlie a little ways, he looked at her pleadingly.

"It was just sitting…it was just sitting in the tent," he answered Charlie. "And Jack just took off."

"Claire could've _died_," Charlie said with disgust.

"I tried to give her some earlier, but it just got out of hand," Boone replied. "No one would have understood.

"What is going on?" Kate asked, walking up, passing next to Scarlett.

"Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never lasted," Boone said, still pleading. Though Scarlett saw the truth in his words, she found herself getting extremely pissed off. He should have let the water alone, so if it was an emergency, then it could be taken care of. Charlie was right. Claire could have died.

As she watched, Charlie shoved Boone backwards, and Sayid stepped in, though he looked like he wouldn't really care if Charlie beat Boone senseless.

"Leave him alone."

Everyone turned to see Jack standing a little ways behind him.

"Jack," Rose breathed, a smile spreading over her features.

"It's been six days," Jack began. "And we're still waiting. Waiting for someone to come…but what if they don't? We have to _stop _waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim and _he _tried to save her, and now you're going to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not going to work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to survive here." Scarlett saw Boone looking at her, trying to catch her eye. She just ignored him. "Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take a group at first light. If you don't want to come then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And God knows how long we're going to be here. But if we can't live together, we're going to die alone."

There was a long silence in which everyone looked around guiltily. Some people still glared at Boone, and Scarlett found herself still slightly mad, but in general the mob mentality had dissipated, leaving the same weary, thirsty passengers from before. Jack was right, they were all realizing. They had to work together to survive.

* * *

Sawyer spotted Boone sitting alone by the ocean again, staring out there. The boy had been doing that since the mob let him go. Sawyer, personally, wouldn't have cared if they had decided to go and hang him from a tree, but he walked up anyway. At first, he actually considered giving him words of comfort, but he decided to just rub the incident in the kid's face. Why not?

"So, how does it feel?" he asked, giving a cocky smile.

"How does what feel?" Boone asked with a considerable amount of annoyance.

"Taking my place at the top of everyone's most-hated list. Sucks, don't it?"

Boone looked at him with anger and disgust for a few moments, before turning his head back to look at the ocean. Sawyer laughed under his breath and turned to go, but knew that he had to say one more thing before he went.

"At least _she _never hated me," he said calmly. He heard Boone turn around, but he didn't stop. He kept going, right up to Scarlett's shelter, aware of Boone's eyes on him the entire time.

"Hey," he said, appearing in front of Scarlett.

"Hey," Scarlett said, smiling. "Where've you been? Did you hear about the water?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said, leaning against the metal. "I was there. I was just…in the shadows a bit. I saw your boyfriend got beat up."

"Don't even talk about Boone," Scarlett practically growled, sighing. "I mean…I know that what he did was smart, I guess, because he was right, people _were _going to panic. But he should have at least told _some _people where the water was. People he trusted. Like Kate, Sayid and…well…me."

Sawyer could see that she was hurt by that, and he felt a stab of jealousy, but he just laughed instead.

"Trust me; he was just being an idiot."

Scarlett looked down at the ground, looking slightly saddened.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "But I feel kind of bad, you know?"

"Claire could have _died_," Sawyer said slowly. "All because of him. Bet you wouldn't feel bad then."

Scarlett looked at Sawyer and nodded slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm gonna go to bed now, though. I'm tired."

"All right," Sawyer said, starting to walk off. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

"You too," Scarlett said with a small laugh. She lay down in the blankets, feeling more than a little frightened without Claire's warmth beside her. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of Boone, but it came to her anyway. She didn't want to be mad…

* * *

_"Help! Someone please help me!"_

_Scarlett whirled around as the scream came from behind her. It sounded so close…_

_"Where are you?" she asked. In reply, the person screamed an almost inhuman sound, loud and shrieking. Scarlett started running towards the noise, but suddenly the rain stopped, and the sun broke through the clouds. She froze, and found herself in a big clearing with while flowers dotting the green grass. _

_She stared around her wondrously, noticing that the screaming had stopped, and now the only sound was the gentle chirping of the birds. As she listened closer, she could hear that there was some kind of stream nearby. _

_The entire place was peaceful and quiet, and suddenly Scarlett found herself very tired. She looked down at the grass, smiling to herself. It looked so comfortable…maybe it would be okay if she just lay down for a minute…_

_She had just gotten to her knees when she heard something rustling in the bushes behind her. She jumped up just as Stephen lurched into the clearing, eyes wide. _

_"Stephen!" she exclaimed, leaping backwards. He stared at her, with his eyes holding no recognition. Then, he tumbled forward and collapsed. _

_Scarlett screamed as she saw the long gashes in his back, as if a giant animal's claws had torn at him as he was running. At the sound of her scream, two people ran out of the forest, staring at her. One was Claire. She was dressed in a flowing white dress like something out of a faerie tale, and her hair was curled and falling down her shoulders in little, perfect ringlets. The other was Locke. He was wearing a crimson shirt and was carrying a huge knife._

_"You shouldn't care," he said coldly. "After all that he did to you? You know you wanted this. You know that you _needed _this."_

_"Remember what he was like before," Claire urged, and Scarlett noticed that she was no longer pregnant. "Remember how he used to love you."_

_"I try," Scarlett sobbed. Stephen rolled over onto his back, looking up at the sky, disoriented and confused-looking. _

_"I'm sorry," he said in a monotone voice. "I'm sorry."_

_"Apologies can't replace what you have done," Locke said accusingly. "Apologies can't take away the pain you left. A bruise is only on the surface. What's below it will last forever."_

_"You know that you love him still," Claire said. "If you return to him, he will love you like he used to. He won't be the same."_

_"You and me both know that that wouldn't last long…"

* * *

_

Scarlett jolted awake and groaned. What was with all the dreams? They were so…scary and weird that she was starting to fear going to sleep. Still, she was really, really tired, so she gently closed her eyes and once again fell asleep.

* * *

**Next Chapter…**

Sawyer shows some uncharacteristic caring…

_"So how you been doing, Sox?" he asked nonchalantly. "I know Joanna was your friend…"_

_Scarlett looked at Sawyer in surprise. He was looking away, trying to act like he didn't really care. _

_"I'm doing okay," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I mean…I'm sad, yeah. It's kind of hard to deal with, considering that she was so set on getting home to see her husband… and I'm gonna miss her…but I just…I'm trying to get over it. I can't keep dwelling on it, you know?"_

_"Yeah," Sawyer said, throwing a small stick at the fire that was smoldering nearby. "I see what you mean."_

…Scarlett can't seem to forgive Boone…

_"I know it was stupid," Boone continued, apparently mistaking her confusion and surprise for anger and disappointment. "I just…I thought that people would panic if they found out we had so little water. It was kind of like the thing with the gun, I guess. I didn't trust anyone with the water, so I took it and hid it."_

Scarlett just stared at him for a few moments. He looked sorry. He looked…sad. But Claire…Claire could have died.

_"You didn't trust me?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly. Scarlett had always been a pretty emotional person, but she usually would have never cried over something as little as someone she barely knew not trusting her. She didn't really blame herself, though. The plane crash had rattled her nerves a little bit._

_"No!" Boone exclaimed. "No, that's not it Scarlett. If there's anyone on this island I would trust, it would be you. I just…I didn't want the wrong people finding out."_

_"The wrong people?" Scarlett asked. "Boone…who the hell are the wrong people?"_

_"I don't know," Boone said with frustration. "Sawyer, for one. Other people. I just…I didn't want anything to happen."_

_"Claire could have died," Scarlett said vehemently. "All because you have trust issues."_

…And Scarlett has another terrifying dream…

_Suddenly, Kate burst through trees._

_"Scarlett!" she yelled. "Scarlett, come quick!"_

_A scream cut through the air, inhuman and loud. Scarlett and Carol both jumped to their feet._

_"What is it?" Scarlett asked with fear._

_"Just hurry," Kate sobbed, and then she was gone._

_All around her, the white flowers started to die, along with the grass, until it was all brown and crisping. Carol looked around, and her eyes began to shine with a brilliant white. _

_"They're coming," she said in a slow, deep voice. "Run!"_


	17. House of the Rising Sun Part 1

Okay, here we go! We're getting closer to the impending hookup!

There's also a little idea I've been having about give Scarlett her own episode. The flashbacks would mainly be about the death of her mother, and who knows what the present day bits would be about! But…yeah, I think I might do that. Who thinks that's a good idea?

Lots of reviews this time! Holy crap, I love you guys!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Yeah, Boone taking the water probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, even though I _do_ love Boone to death. I see where he's coming from and all, but I just think he should have trusted at least _someone _with the information, you know? Oh, and Scarlett _is _angry. Very angry! Lol! Thanks for taking the time to review! You rock!

**Saraiyu: **Jealous Sawyer _is _adorable. Just you wait. There'll be a lot more jealousness coming up soon! Thanks as always for the review!

**Pink hardcore: **Yeah, poor kid. He seems like he's always trying to do the right thing, yet he always seems to screw it up! Haha, a lot of people seem to be voting for Scarlett and Sawyer, or…I don't know…Scrawlett? Scawyer? Haha, something like that. Scarlett and Boone would be…Scroone? Barlett? That gives me an idea…

**Love me hate me: **I actually just finished Confidence Man, the episode when the whole bit with Shannon's inhaler happens, so I _do _know the answer…I just can't tell you! Haha! But, be satisfied that there will be aftereffects of that inhaler thing, though whether they be good or bad, you'll see in time. And…if they kill off Sawyer, I will be _so _mad! I already am heated that they killed off Boone! And, yeah, the two hottest guys on the island (on my opinion, anyway) cannot die! Thanks for the review!

**Monica: **Oh, you'll see what happens to Scarlett and Booney Boy rather soon! Haha! And, your story has been read and reviewed! I don't personally watch Law and Order, so at first I was thinking I wouldn't get it, but I followed it pretty well. I was rather proud of myself! Haha! It's a very good story, though. PEOPLE READ HER STORY! GAURDIANE ANGEL FOR LAW AND ORDER!

**Rockasoul: **Haha! I didn't even think about that! I'm not saying it won't happen, of course; but I'm not saying it will either! I'm just being mysterious and saying that that's a really cool thing with the Rhett and Scarlett. (Haha, did you notice the story Like Rhett and Scarlett, the Skater story? That makes me do a double take every time!)

**Ericana: **Thanks! I always love new reviewers! They make the world go round! I hope you keep reading and reviewing and liking!

**MyDearDelirious: **Well, my dear, your wish is my command!

So, thanks to an idea that came to me while I was writing the response to Pink hardcore's review, I now have a new **POLL! **Okay, so, there's all sorts of cool names for the pairings on the island, like Skate and Shoone and Jate and Shayid, etc. What do you think should be the official names for Scarlett/Sawyer and Scarlett/Boone? And which do you prefer?

That's all for now! Please remember to review and take the poll!

* * *

**The House of the Rising Sun (1): **Scarlett's Bad Mood

When Scarlett woke up the next morning, she was sore, tired, and cranky. She found it slightly ironic that it was actually the first time she had woken up in a bad mood.

"Oh well," she muttered to herself. "Everyone has their bad days."

She stood up slowly and stretched, deciding that she was going to rinse herself off in the water and change her clothes. She had seen Kate doing it some other time, and she figured that she'd do it too. Who cared if anyone saw?

She pulled out a clean pair of jeans and another tank top that she had with her. Then, she headed down to the water, a frown on her face. She didn't know what it was that had put her in a bad mood, but it was definitely there.

She reached the edge of the water and stripped down to her bathing suit, which she had been wearing under her clothes for a while. The water felt good against her bare legs, so she decided to go for a little swim.

Not too far, though. She only went deep enough so that she could still touch the bottom. There, she started washing the sand and leaves and dirt out of her hair, and she used the little bit of shampoo that she had been able to acquire. It wasn't much, but it actually left her hair smelling slightly refreshing.

"Takin' a little bath, Sox?" Sawyer asked from where he stood on the shore.

"Yes," Scarlett said, making a face. "I figured it wasn't doing me any good smelling like shit."

"I don't think you smell quite _that _bad," Sawyer replied with a laugh. "And we all smell. I'm starting to not notice it."

"Lucky you," Scarlett snorted. Sawyer laughed as well and sat down on the beach, watching her. "Are you really just going to sit there and watch me take a bath?"

"Hell yes," Sawyer laughed. "I haven't got a show like this in a long time!"

"I'm sure," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. She started walking back to shore. "Too bad I'm finished."

"Aw, damn," Sawyer replied, smiling. "I always miss the good part."

"Yeah," Scarlett laughed. "Guess you do."

She got out of the water and started drying herself off with a towel. Sawyer watched.

"You're such a pervert," she laughed, throwing it at him when she finished drying. "My God, Sawyer!"

Sawyer laughed and threw the towel back as she started to get dressed.

"I'm not a pervert," he replied. "I just appreciate beauty when I see it."

"Oh, how sweet," Scarlett said sarcastically. She finished dressing and started walking back to her shelter with her towel and her dirty clothes. Sawyer followed.

"So how you been doing, Sox?" he asked nonchalantly. "I know Joanna was your friend…"

Scarlett looked at Sawyer in surprise. He was looking away, trying to act like he didn't really care.

"I'm doing okay," she said, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I mean…I'm sad, yeah. It's kind of hard to deal with, considering that she was so set on getting home to see her husband… and I'm gonna miss her…but I just…I'm trying to get over it. I can't keep dwelling on it, you know?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said, throwing a small stick at the fire that was smoldering nearby. "I know what you mean."

Scarlett looked at Sawyer out of the corner of her eye and saw him staring into the fire angrily. She shook her head and deposited her stuff in her suitcase. Then, she pulled out her camera subtly and took a picture.

"Hey!" Sawyer exclaimed. Scarlett laughed and tucked the picture in her suitcase along with the rest of them. Sawyer shook his head. "I'll praise the day you run out of film on that thing," he muttered. Scarlett laughed again and put the camera away in her suitcase as well, zipping it up and then covering it with part of the tarp so it wouldn't get wet if it rained.

"I'm going to go visit Claire," she said, gesturing with her head over towards the tent. "You wanna come?"

"No thanks," Sawyer said with a smile. "You go ahead. I got other things to do."

Scarlett knew that Sawyer didn't have 'other things to do'. The man didn't have _anything _to do, but she wasn't going to press it. If he didn't want to go, then he didn't have to go.

She walked over to the tent slowly, smiling when she saw that both Claire and Charlie were still sleeping. It was probably one of the most adorable sights she had ever seen. She made a little cooing noise to herself and laughed, turning back to go to her shelter, deciding to come back later when they were awake.

When she turned back, she saw Boone standing in front of her, looking at her with his eyes huge, as if he was nervous about something. She didn't blame him. She'd be nervous too if she had just screwed up royally, almost killing her friend in the process, and she had to face another friend about it.

"Um…" he said nervously, biting his lip. If he thought she was going to help him out any, he was wrong. She just stood there, watching him with pursed lips and cold, hard eyes. He looked away. "I…look, I'm sorry."

Scarlett jolted with surprise. The words were said in the same monotone that he had used in her dreams, just like he had said when he was apologizing for now saving Joanna.

"Um…" she said, trying to regain her composure. She had been so cool and calm only moments before. Why was she so jittery? It was just a stupid dream.

"I know it was stupid," Boone continued, apparently mistaking her confusion and surprise for anger and disappointment. "I just…I thought that people would panic if they found out we had so little water. It was kind of like the thing with the gun, I guess. I didn't trust anyone with the water, so I took it and hid it."

Scarlett just stared at him for a few moments. He looked sorry. He looked…sad. But Claire…Claire could have _died_.

"You didn't trust _me_?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly. Scarlett had always been a pretty emotional person, but she usually would have never cried over something as little as someone she barely knew not trusting her. She didn't really blame herself, though. The plane crash _had _rattled her nerves a little bit.

"No!" Boone exclaimed. "No, that's not it Scarlett. If there's anyone on this island I would trust, it would be you. I just…I didn't want the wrong people finding out."

"The wrong people?" Scarlett asked. "Boone…who the hell are the wrong people?"

"I don't know," Boone said with frustration. "Sawyer, for one. Other people. I just…I didn't want anything to happen."

"Claire could have _died_," Scarlett said vehemently. "All because you have trust issues."

Boone looked as though she had just slapped him across the face. His mouth opened slightly, and he made the wiggly eyebrow face. Though, Scarlett didn't call it the wiggly eyebrow face in her mind. She couldn't, or she would start to feel sorry for him. She _wanted _to be mad.

"I…I'm sorry," he said shakily. "I didn't know…at the time…I tried to give her water…"

"Boone, just leave me alone," Scarlett growled. "I don't want to talk to you right now, okay?"

Another slap in the face. Boone's eyes were as wide as saucers. Scarlett forced herself not to look at them. She wasn't going to fall for the eyes, like she always did.

* * *

_"Scarlett, I'm so, so sorry."_

_Scarlett just backed away from him as he tried to take her arm gently, shaking with fear and pain. _

_"Don't touch me," she said, sobbing. "Stay away!"_

_"Sweetie, baby, I'm so sorry. So sorry," Stephen said soothingly, his eyes wide and frightened. "I can't…I can't believe I just did that. I'm so sorry."_

_"Get away," Scarlett whispered, but she was losing the battle. His eyes stared at her, so wide and vulnerable…she just couldn't resist him. And the worst part was that he knew it._

"I'm sorry," he said encouragingly. "Baby, you know it won't happen again. I was angry…I'll never do it again. I promise."

_Scarlett bowed her head and nodded once, tears running down her face. After all, he hadn't hit her _that _hard. The bruise wouldn't be hard to conceal. Yeah…she could do it. It wasn't too bad._

_"Okay," she whispered, and she reluctantly walked into his open arms. And as she stood there in his comforting embrace, she couldn't help but feel that this was only the beginning….

* * *

_

"I didn't know," Boone whispered tremulously. "Scarlett, I'm _so _sorry…"

"Just get away from me!" Scarlett exclaimed, turning and storming away down the beach. She didn't have to turn back to know that he would be standing there, watching her with those eyes…so like Stephen's in their large quality. She wasn't going to lose to those eyes ever again. Never.

* * *

She stormed off to the water, where she sat, looking at the waves, with a sullen frown on her face. She was still in a horrible mood, and her conversation with Boone had only made it worse. She wasn't sure what to do with herself, but she didn't feel like doing any work. She silently willed Randy to stay away from her, for his own good. If he came anywhere near her…she didn't know what she'd do to him, but it certainly wouldn't be very pretty.

Suddenly, as she was sitting there, she heard screaming a little ways down the beach. She looked over and saw two people fighting in the waves. She leapt to her feet and half-limped, half-ran over to the fight. As she got closer, she could see that it was the foreign man and Michael. As she watched, Walt ran up to the fight, trying to pull the man off his father, but the man just shoved him backwards. Scarlett gasped angrily and started hurrying forward to intervene, when suddenly Sayid flew out of nowhere, tackling Jin while Sawyer picked Michael up out of the water.

"The handcuffs from the Sky Marshall!" Sayid exclaimed to Sawyer. "Now!"

The foreign man was putting up quite a fight, so Sawyer had to help Sayid calm him down before they were able to handcuff him to part of the plane. Sayid started trying to talk to the foreign man's wife, but Scarlett wasn't in the mood to stay and listen. She stalked off to her shelter and flopped down on the blankets, lying on her back and staring at the tarp above her.

She lay there, smoldering with anger, for about two hours. She was trying to fall asleep, but she just couldn't. There was definitely something wrong with her. She sighed and got up again, walking over to the remains of the fuselage. She was a little uneasy about going near it, considering that a few days ago a bunch of bodies had been burned there, but still she went to it, knowing that they could use the help.

It wasn't that she _wanted _to help. She certainly wasn't in the mood for _that_. It was just that there was nothing else to do, and she was feeling oddly restless.

She sorted clothes by herself for about an hour. She sorted the practical from the impractical. As exciting as that all was, her mood was only souring. After that hour, she got someone else to do it and went back to her shelter.

She saw Boone sitting by his shelter, nodding his head forlornly in response to Shannon's talking about something. She growled under her breath and flopped down on the blankets once again. Surprisingly, this time she felt very tired, and she almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

_It was the same green field with the same white flowers. This time, Carol stood in front of her._

_"Why'd you let him do this to you?" she asked, taking Scarlett's arm gently and showing her the massive bruise that was on it. "Why did you let him hurt you?"_

_"I didn't," Scarlett said defensively, pulling her arm away. Carol sighed heavily and sat down in the field. Scarlett, after a moment of hesitation, joined her. _

_"You have to understand that this won't be easy," she said slowly. "But you can do it. I have faith in you, Scarlett. You can survive this and you can become a better person."_

_"I can't go back to him, Carol," Scarlett whispered tearfully. "If we ever get off this island…I just can't go back. I can't."_

_"I know, sweetie," Carol said. "But I wasn't talking about Stephen. I was talking about…"_

_Suddenly, Kate burst through trees._

_"Scarlett!" she yelled. "Scarlett, come quick!"_

_A scream cut through the air, inhuman and loud. Scarlett and Carol both jumped to their feet._

_"What is it?" Scarlett asked with fear._

_"Just hurry," Kate sobbed, and then she was gone._

_All around her, the white flowers started to die, along with the grass, until it was all brown and crisping. Carol looked around, and her eyes began to shine with a brilliant white. _

_"They're coming," she said in a slow, deep voice. "Run!"

* * *

_

**Next Chapter:**

Michael and Jin continue their fight…

_"…I'm not exactly having the best month of my life. I barely knew my son, and now, I gotta be his daddy. And then, to top it off, I have a deranged Korean guy trying to kill me, and for what? Look, I get it, right?" Michael took a watch out of his pocket. Scarlett realized that he was holding an axe. No wonder the foreign (Korean) man looked terrified. "It's the watch. Mine broke and I figured, hey, why let a twenty thousand dollar watch go to waste, which is ridiculous since time doesn't matter on a damn island!"_

_With that, Michael gave a furious yell and cut the handcuffs off the piece of the airplane Jin was attached to. Jin started and cowered in fright, but then looked surprised as he realized that he was not only still alive, but free as well. _

_"Stay away from me," Michael spat in disgust. "And my kid."_

…Claire decides to stay at the beach…

_"I don't want to move to the caves," Claire said innocently. "I like it here, at the beach."_

Scarlett managed to stifle the sigh she was going to heave, and instead she just nodded.

_"Okay," she said slowly. "But why not?"_

_"We're fine here," Claire said, as if it were obvious. "I mean…I like it here. I like the beach."_

_Scarlett glanced at Charlie and noticed that he was completely covered in bee stings. _

_"What did you do?" she asked, aghast. Charlie grinned sheepishly._

_"I have an irrational fear of bees," he muttered. Claire giggled. "But I got my guitar! I left it back at the caves, 'cus I thought you guys'd be coming back but…are you sure you don't want to come?"_

_He was talking unusually fast, and Scarlett had a feeling it had something to do with Claire and her refusal to go to the caves._

_"I'm sure, Charlie," Claire replied with a small smile. "But thanks for asking."_

_"Maybe you'll change your mind?" he asked hopefully._

_"Maybe," Claire agreed, smiling. "It's not likely, but maybe."_

_"Okay," Charlie said, smiling. "Okay, I'll see you two later."_

_Scarlett nodded and smiled, and Claire gave a little wave. Charlie hurried off, running a hand through his hair as he went. Claire sighed._

_"I feel bad," she said. "He seemed really excited. I just…I want to be here when it happens, you know?"_

_"When what happens?" Scarlett asked with confusion, thinking that Claire meant the birth of her baby._

_"When they rescue us," Claire replied simply. "I want to be here, so I can see it."_

_"Oh," Scarlett said quietly._

…and Scarlett opens up to Sawyer about her past…

_"He really hurt you, didn't he?" Sawyer asked. Scarlett gave a little jolt of surprise. _

_"Who?" she asked automatically. _

_"You know who," Sawyer said. "Every night I hear you in here, telling him to stay away from you."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly, looking at the ground. "Yeah…he really did."_


	18. House of the Rising Sun Part 2

Hey, figured it'd be a good time for an update! Haha!

I have to tell you guys the weird little thing that happened to me relating to this story the other day. I think it might have been Thursday, but I'm not sure.

Okay…so I was at my little brother's baseball game, and there was this lady sitting next to me and my parents who I was having this conversation with about Lost (because she had seen my Boone shirt and apparently LOVED Boone.) So this lady was maybe in her thirties, maybe thirty-five, but she was pretty and had brown hair. (My mom kept looking at me weird because I was holding a conversation with this lady clearly WAY older than me, haha)

So we were talking about the finale (apparently she was a Sawyer fan too) and her daughter runs up. She's maybe like…five or six. So her mom says "I thought you were going to go to the playground _Ashley_."

So the girl went back, and we started talking again, and then there was a break in the game, and this kid runs up. He was on my brother's team, so he had to be about eight or nine. And the lady says "Really nice play out there, _Anthony_."

So that's when I was like 'wait…Ashley is Scarlett's middle name, and Anthony is her brother'. So as if things couldn't get ANY weirder, her husband shows up, and his name is Mark. (I haven't posted that part yet, but in Confidence Man, you find out that that's Scarlett's stepdad's name.) So…how WEIRD is that? I was seriously freaked out!

Okay, so anyway! Thanks for the reviews, and please remember to review again!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Yay for Lost fics! Hahaha! Yeah…Stephen is a scary dude. He scares me too, even though his appearance is based on a friend (Why? Actually, I was originally going to have Stephen be a good guy, but then when he was a jerk, the curly brown hair and big eyes just stuck.) Yes, I have a _huge _weakness for eyes. Especially this friend I based Stephen on. He has the most captivating eyes. He just has to look at me, and I'm like 'okay, what do you want?' Haha, you've got a thing about Boone, don't you? Well, we'll see what happens. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you like the story!

**CharlieMine: **I did! I did! I did! Haha, thanks for the review!

**Rockasoul: **Hehehe, oh, I can be _very _mysterious! Lol, yeah there's a fic. It makes me sad though, because it takes place around Do No Harm. Lol, thanks for the review, and keep being anxious!

**Pink Hardcore: **Haha, I like _saying _Scroone. Its so cool. Scawyer is fun too, but Scroone just beats it down. Scrooooone. A lot of people vote for Scawyer. Poor Scroone. Haha! Yeah, that was a short one. I wanted to make sure to split it into two parts, but it was a really short episode. (Wait until we get to Confidence Man. In total, it's thirty-two pages. Solitary is already thirteen pages, and I've just barely begun with that one!) Thanks for reviewing!

**WhatsGoingOn: **You're welcome for reading your story. It was very good, as I told you in the review, haha! Thanks for the review once again!

**Saraiyu: **Hehe, Scroone again! Don't you just love that word? Well, the impending hookup isn't quite as impending as I thought. I pushed it back for story reasons. It was going to be in Solitary, but I decided against it. I've got my own ideas! Lol! Yeah, I've completely decided on it now. I'm going to give Scarlett her own episode. I love your idea there! That could be really good! (I'll credit you, I promise! Haha!) Thanks for the review!

**Tori:** I DID! Haha, Thanks for the review!

* * *

**The House of the Rising Sun (2): **Safe

Scarlett's eyes flew open. She looked around, as if making sure that she wasn't in that field, and then she heaved a relieved sigh and sat up, shaking her head slightly. Another odd dream involving that place. She wondered if it was really on the island. Now _that _would be an odd twist.

She got up. Just as she was doing so, she saw Michael standing by the foreign man, yelling something. She moved closer to listen.

"…I'm not exactly having the best month of my life. I barely knew my son, and now, I gotta be his daddy. And then, to top it off, I have a deranged Korean guy trying to kill me, and for what? Look, I get it, right?" Michael took a watch out of his pocket. Scarlett realized that he was holding an axe. No wonder the foreign (Korean) man looked terrified. "It's the watch. Mine broke and I figured, hey, why let a twenty thousand dollar watch go to waste, which is ridiculous since time doesn't matter on a damn island!"

With that, Michael gave a furious yell and cut the handcuffs off the piece of the airplane the man was attached to. The Korean man started and cowered in fright, but then looked surprised as he realized that he was not only still alive, but free as well.

"Stay away from me," Michael spat in disgust. "And my kid."

He stalked off with Walt in tow. Scarlett watched them go, nodding her head in respect for Michael. The guy certainly had some power. She smiled to herself and moved off to Claire's tent, in a remarkably better mood than she had been before her little nap.

Claire was awake and looking bored, but Charlie was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," Scarlett said as she entered. Claire looked at her and gave a happy gasp.

"Scarlett!" she exclaimed. "You have _no _idea how happy I am to see you. None at all. This day has been _so _boring."

"Where's Charlie?" Scarlett asked, nudging her friend playfully.

"He went off to look for water," Claire said, smiling. Scarlett sat down in the seat that Charlie had previously occupied.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, smiling at Claire.

"Much," Claire said happily. "I really think I'd be okay to move around, but Jack told me to stay here until he comes back."

Scarlett nodded in understanding.

"Hey, hey guys," Charlie said, hurrying up. Claire smiled brightly.

"Yeah?" she said. He was out of breath.

"We got water," Charlie replied, grinning. He handed Claire a full bottle.

"Charlie!" Claire squealed. "Thank you!"

"And one for you, m'lady," Charlie said, bowing with a small smile. Scarlett laughed.

"Thank you, Charlie," she said.

"Me and Jack are gathering people to be at the caves," Charlie said. "Anyone wanna come?"

"You mean…stay there?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "It's safer there, apparently. It's a more…permanent location? I think that's what Jack said.

"We don't _need _a more permanent location," Claire said suddenly. "They're coming. People to rescue us. They're coming."

Charlie looked at Scarlett discreetly, and she knew that he was thinking about the French distress call. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she said. "They're coming…but I mean…it _could _be a better place to stay. There'll be people here to watch for a plane. I mean…the caves _are _probably safer, and Jack will be there, so in case you need some help with something…"

"I don't want to move to the caves," Claire said innocently. "I like it here, at the beach."

Scarlett managed to stifle the sigh she was going to heave, and instead she just nodded.

"Okay," she said slowly. "But why not?"

"We're fine here," Claire said, as if it were obvious. "I mean…I like it here. I like the beach."

Scarlett glanced at Charlie and noticed that he was completely covered in bee stings.

"What did you _do_?" she asked, aghast. Charlie grinned sheepishly.

"I have an irrational fear of bees," he muttered. Claire giggled. "But I got my guitar! I left it back at the caves, 'cus I thought you guys'd be coming back but…are you sure you don't want to come?"

He was talking unusually fast, and Scarlett had a feeling it had something to do with Claire and her refusal to go to the caves.

"I'm sure, Charlie," Claire replied with a small smile. "But thanks for asking."

"Maybe you'll change your mind?" he asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Claire agreed, smiling. "It's not likely, but maybe."

"Okay," Charlie said, smiling. "Okay, I'll see you two later."

Scarlett nodded and smiled, and Claire gave a little wave. Charlie hurried off, running a hand through his hair as he went. Claire sighed.

"I feel bad," she said. "He seemed really excited. I just…I want to be here when it happens, you know?"

"When what happens?" Scarlett asked with confusion, thinking that Claire meant the birth of her baby.

"When they rescue us," Claire replied simply. "I want to be here, so I can see it."

"Oh," Scarlett said quietly. "Yeah. I guess I do too."

"You aren't mad that I'm not going, are you?" Claire asked.

"No," Scarlett said quickly. "No, I was just thinking."

"About…your brother?" Claire asked, taking a stab in the dark.

"No," Scarlett replied with a smile. "I try not to think about _him_."

"Oh," Claire said uncomfortably, and an awkward silence fell over the two of them. Then, after a long moment, Claire shifted, and Scarlett knew she was about to speak.

"Are you mad at Boone for what he did yesterday?" she asked. Scarlett looked at her in surprise.

"What?" she asked. "Well…yeah, I guess. Why wouldn't I be? He took the water and hid it. You could have died!"

"But he was only doing it to help," Claire said gently. "He didn't mean anything by it."

"I know," Scarlett muttered moodily. "I just…I don't know. The fact that you could have died just keeps coming back."

"But I didn't die," Claire pointed out.

"But if you had, then it would have been his fault," Scarlett said. "I told him that you fainted. I told him that you needed water, and he just…stood there. He didn't say anything!"

"He tried to give me water later," Claire reminded her. "He was giving me some when Charlie attacked him."

"Was he?" Scarlett asked with surprise. Claire looked at her questioningly.

"You didn't know that?" she asked.

"No!" Scarlett exclaimed. "He was giving you water?"

"Yes!" Claire exclaimed. "Charlie was watching over the tent, and he came in with…I think it was three bottles of water. He was giving me some, but Charlie stopped him."

Scarlett looked out at Boone's shelter, but Boone wasn't there. She wondered where he was…

"I can't believe it," she said with a heavy sigh. "I thought that he was just caught with the water. I didn't know he actually tried to _give _you some!"

"He did!" Claire exclaimed. "You should find him and tell him that. I haven't talked to him at all today…but he looked upset. That's why I figured you were mad at him."

Scarlett stood up, but then she sat back down slowly.

"I'll talk to him later," she said. As if on cue, Sayid entered the tent, smiling.

"Hello," he said. "I hear you are staying here on the beach?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "We want to be here when the rescue comes."

A lie, but whatever. It was the answer that everyone else had, so why wouldn't be believe her?

"Yes. That seems to be the general reason for staying," he said, but he gave her a look that she didn't like. Like he knew that she didn't really want rescue. She tried to remember if she had said anything to him about it, but she was pretty sure she hadn't…

"Why are you staying?" Claire asked. Sayid shrugged.

"The same reason," he said, but there was something in his tone that suggested something else that he just wasn't telling them. Scarlett decided to let it go, considering that he wasn't the only one not telling the complete truth.

"Are there many people going to the caves?" Claire asked curiously.

"I'd say a good number," Sayid said. "About a quarter. Maybe less. Enough that there'll be much more space around here, as if we needed it."

Scarlett smiled and looked down at the ground, thinking to herself quietly. If the others were moving to a more 'permanent location', then did that mean that they thought no one was coming? Did that mean that they thought that there was a chance of them not being rescued? She didn't know _what _she wanted anymore. She was starting to feel really stressed out and jittery, like she had been before she fled to Australia.

"I want to stay here," Claire said gently. "If you want to go to the caves, Scarlett…"

"No, no," Scarlett said quickly. "I'm fine here, really. I was just…thinking."

Sayid gave her a knowing look, and Scarlett shook her head slowly, smiling. He knew what _thinking_ meant with her.

"Okay," Claire said slowly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, smiling. "Positive."

Claire gave a happy smile and a more than just relieved sigh.

"Okay," she said again. "I'm glad."

Sayid smiled at them both and gently bowed his head.

"I will talk with you later," he said, holding his hands out in front of him like he was praying.

"Bye, Sayid," Scarlett said, waving with another smile. "Thanks for coming to talk."

"Yeah," Claire agreed enthusiastically. "Thanks!"

"Anytime," Sayid replied, grinning.

He walked out of the tent, and Claire and Scarlett remained there for a little while longer not really talking, until Claire fell asleep. When Claire was completely asleep, Scarlett left the tent, trying to find Boone.

She only hoped that he didn't go to the caves. Still, she couldn't find him. She looked everywhere, but he was just…nowhere. _Great_, she thought to herself as she approached her own shelter and added a few more sticks and leaves to the fire that she was burning, _Now I'm going to have to wait until the morning to say something to him. What if something happens before then? _

She sighed and flopped down on the blankets, looking up at the sky with an emotionless façade. She heard people talking all around her, and she gently closed her eyes…

* * *

_"Carrie? Carrie?"_

_Scarlett stood in the front hall of the massive house, looking up the stairs. A river of red flowed down it, pooling at her feet. _

_"Carrie?"_

_She was starting to panic. What was wrong? She started up the stairs, shaking and shivering with fear. Suddenly, she slipped and fell backwards, closing her eyes and screaming…_

_She landed on her back on the beach. Shannon sat in front of her, cross-legged. _

_"Why are you here?" she asked. "What is your reason?"_

_"What?" Scarlett asked._

_"What are you here?" Shannon repeated. "What is your reason?"_

_"My reason for what?" Scarlett asked. _

_"Being here," Shannon replied. Her voice was clear, but held no emotion. _

_"I don't…I don't understand. We all crashed. I don't…"_

_"Who hurt you, Scarlett?" Shannon asked, and her voice was gentle and sympathetic. _

_"W…what?" Scarlett asked shakily. "I…Shannon…what?"_

_"I know what he did to you," Shannon whispered. "But you're safe now."_

_"You're safe now," Sawyer's voice repeated, though Scarlett couldn't see him anywhere._

_"You're safe now." Kate._

_"You're safe now." Claire._

_"You're safe now." Charlie._

_"You're safe now." Boone._

_"You're safe now." Sayid._

_"We won't let him hurt you," Shannon whispered over the continuing promises. Michael, Walt, Stephanie, Randy, Joanna, and even a promise in a foreign language reached her ears. Eventually, they all blurred together until it was one big voice, promising her that she was safe. _

_She felt the tears rolling down her face, and she closed her eyes. She felt herself falling backwards, until a pair of strong arms caught her, and she lay against someone. Slowly, she was passed onto someone else, and then another. _

_"You're safe now," they continued. "We won't let him hurt you."_

_Finally, she was placed on the ground again, and she opened her eyes to find herself in that same clearing once again. The white flowers seemed more numerous this time, and even larger. _

_A rustling in the bushes alerted her to Stephen's presence. She screamed and started to back away, but there was no need. Shannon stepped out of the trees behind her and moved until she stood in front of Scarlett, her hands on her hips._

_"You can't touch her," she growled, lowering her head and looking up at him through her hair. "She's safe now."_

_"You can't stop me," Stephen retorted mockingly. Shannon held up a hand, and Boone stepped out of the trees from behind Stephen. To his left, Sawyer headed out. From the right, Charlie. From behind Scarlett, Sayid. Then Claire, Kate, the Korean woman, the Korean man, Michael, Walt, Jack, Randy, Stephanie, Joanna, the marshal, and so many others who Scarlett didn't know by name, but just by face. They all surrounded she and Shannon and Stephen. He looked around, fear in his eyes._

_"Why won't you let me take her?" he asked. "She's mine!"_

_"Not anymore," Boone said proudly. "She's ours now."_

_The survivors all murmured an agreement. Scarlett stood up slowly. Shannon pulled her forward. _

_"Let's ask her if she wants to go with you," Shannon said with confidence. "Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett looked at Stephen, and she could see his heart breaking through his eyes. She tried to make her mouth form the words that would set her free, but she couldn't. They just wouldn't work. Her heart froze in her chest, and she could only stare at him, begging him to understand. _

_"I…I don't know," she whimpered. _

_At once, all the survivors vanished. For a split second, she glimpsed them glaring at her through the trees, but then they were gone. She was left alone facing Stephen. The sky began to darken, and the wind began to howl through the trees. As Scarlett turned to face Stephen, she could see that he was smiling.

* * *

_

When Scarlett awoke, she saw that Sawyer was standing in front of the shelter, looking down with sympathy. She sat up and looked at him with surprise.

"Sawyer?" she asked, squinting against the light of the fire against the dark. "What are you…?"

"He really hurt you, didn't he?" Sawyer asked. Scarlett gave a little jolt of surprise.

"Who?" she asked automatically.

"You know who," Sawyer said. "Every night I hear you in here, telling him to stay away from you."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly, looking at the ground. "Yeah…he really did."

Sawyer nodded and started to walk off. Before he left, however, he turned back for a split second.

"You know…" he said uncomfortably. "When we get rescued…he's gonna be there, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said sadly. "Probably."

"Don't worry about it," Sawyer murmured uncomfortably. "We won't let him hurt you."

Scarlett's eyes widened, and she stared at him in surprise. She knew what Sawyer was going to say next, but that didn't make it any less eerie when he said it.

"You're safe now."

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

Jack gets trapped in a cave-in…

_"What's wrong, man?" Michael asked as Charlie ran up to them, looking out of breath. He was almost completely covered in dirt and mud. _

_"It's Jack," Charlie gasped. "He's trapped."_

_"What?" Boone asked with surprise, glancing at Scarlett nervously. Her head tilted to one side in question._

_"A cave collapsed," Charlie panted. "We don't even know if he's alive. Come on, we've gotta go."_

_Michael nodded frantically. _

_"Hey, uh, uh, Scott?" he said, pointing. _

_"I'm Steve," said the man he had pointed to. _

_"I'm Scott," said a man standing a little ways behind him. The two really did look alike._

_"We've got an emergency," Michael said quickly. "Grab a couple of guys and let's go."_

_"We've got to go now," Charlie said urgently. _

…Shannon and Claire talk about Scarlett…

_Claire pulled her legs up to give Shannon some room. _

_"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I thought there was something between her and Sawyer…"_

"_Sawyer?" Shannon asked incredulously. "That asshole? Scarlett could do so much better than him." _

_"I know!" Claire exclaimed, glad she finally found someone to talk to all this about besides her little diary. "I think so too! I don't want to say anything, though."_

_"He's hot, I'll admit that," Shannon said begrudgingly. _

_"Yeah, dreamy," Claire agreed with a shy little giggle. _

_"But he is such a jerk."_

_"Scarlett seems to like him," Claire remarked thoughtfully. _

_"Yeah, but…why?"_

_"Maybe he's nice to her?" Claire suggested. Shannon thought for a moment. _

_"Yeah," she said slowly. "Or maybe she's just falling for the wrong guy."_

…And Scarlett remembers she and Stephen's first meeting…

_Ten year old Scarlett looked up from her doll she was playing with. Her mother stood over her with a boy, maybe a little older than her, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. _

_"This is Stephen," her mother said kindly. "You know Becca? My friend? This is her son."_

_"Hi Stephen," Scarlett said shyly. "I'm Scarlett."_

_"Hey," Stephen said with a small smile. _

_"You're the only person here close to his age," Scarlett's mother said with a sigh. "So please play nice."_


	19. The Moth Part 1

Update time! (I'm bored, so I figure this'll do!)

Update in my life….school is quite literally hell. And not just because of classes and stuff, but we don't have air conditioning…and its REALLY hot there. So all during school I was writing a very AU fic about what will happen with the people after they're rescued. (Though I don't think that will be happening any time soon…) It'll include Scarlett and her chosen man, of course. I may post it after I'm done with this first season, but I'm not sure yet. Tell me what you think my darling reviewers!

Speaking of reviewers…thanks for reviewing! Those who haven't reviewed…you know you want to! Just press that pretty little button at the bottom of the screen and you will be loved forever by me!

**Chrizz: **Oh, Sawyer is so swooneworthy. Yeah…my preview is kind of the whole chapter! Haha! Especially when the chapter is as short as mine are starting to get. I'm glad you don't mind though. (Though now I know it's going to bother me, because I'm OCD like that!) And, hey, who says anything's going to happen between Scarlett and Sawyer? It could be Scroone! Scawyer, Scroone. Who to choose? Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Two things like that just happened to me the other day, and I thought immediately of you! First, I had this dream where this kid I think is hot, who's a freshman (I'm a sophomore) and I were on Survivor together. At the time, this kid had long hair and it was all black and emo-ish. In my dream, his hair was short. The next day…I went in, and he had cut his hair short! (I was very upset about this, lol). Then, about a day later, I had a dream that my crush, who's a friend as well (The same gorgeous friend that Stephen is based on), died, and I had to go to his funeral. The next day he told me that he could possibly die! (Thankfully, though, he's okay now.) It freaked me out!

And yes, I agree that Sawyer is really a sweet guy at heart, though he constantly tries to get people to think otherwise! I love him huggles Sawyer, but I also love Boone huggles Boone. Boone ain't all that bad, people! He's a sweet guy too. He should probably think things through better sometimes, but he's a nice guy! I'd love him for a boyfriend! I wish I had a guy like either him OR Sawyer! Haha! Thanks for the review. (Holy long response!)

**Saraiyu: **Scroone Scroone Scroone! Haha, I do like saying it. Shoone is fun too. Shoone Shoone Shoone. Yeah, House of the Rising Sun isn't my favorite either, though it is cool to find out that Sun speaks English (Even though poor Scarlett is kept in the dark from that secret in this chapter…though I predict not for long! Hehe, spoiler!) My Boone shirt….I made it, lol. After Boone died, my sister and I thought it would be a cool idea to make a Boone shirt for the birthday of a friend who likes Boone, and so we did, and I made one for myself as well, and she made a Charlie one. It's got a picture of Boone on it from Solitary, and it says "Boone" at the top in pretty letters, and then down the bottom it says "Lost but not forgotten" with little hearts around it! They're really easy to make. You just use the iron on paper that you can get at CVS or…someplace like that! Lol. Thanks for the review!

**Dragon Blade5: **Awwww, thanks! It always makes me happy when people say they like my writing. (Very low self confidence, lol). Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Haha, well, we'll see about Scarlett and Boone. Those two crazy kids just might work it out…lol. Story read and reviewed. Like I told you in the review, the author alert thing didn't want to work for me, so I did it again! Lol. Thanks for the review!

I was thinking the other day…and I realized that there are two pairs that I absolutely despise, and three that I _adore_. The two I hate are Jack/Kate and Shannon/Sayid. Don't ask my why about the Jate, but the Shayid is easy; too much love you Sayid/Nadia, and SHOONE! The pairs I looove are Charlie/Claire, Sawyer/Kate, and Shannon/Boone.

Now…the way this story works, one of my HATED pairs is going to have to happen, and one of my LOVED pairs is going to have to…not happen! If Scarlett hooks up with Sawyer, then there will be no more Skate and Jack and Kate will hook up, and that will suck. If Scarlett hooks up with Boone, then there will be no more Shoone, and Shannon and Sayid will hook up.

Why does life have to be so cruel?

Hmmmm, **POLL **time!

For the Next Chapter section…do you think it would be better if I did a sort of trailer? Like instead of the excepts, I could do like the script to a commercial, for example:

Sawyer: You ever killed a man?

(Scarlett looks out at the ocean)

Scarlett: No

Sawyer: I didn't think so.

(Cut to the caves. Shannon gasps for breath.)

Boone: Help! She's not breathing!)

(An excerpt from Confidence Man! Ooooh!)

So would that be better, do you think? Your vote! **_VOTE PLEASE!_** I would love you even more!

Okay, so enough of my loooooong rambling and here's the chapter!

* * *

**The Moth (1): **Repairs 

Scarlett woke up the next morning, feeling like she had just slept for a year. She stretched luxuriously, but then stopped suddenly when she heard what had woken her up in the first place. Charlie was yelling. She jumped up and looked around. When she saw Charlie running over to Boone and Michael, she hobbled over to join them. Her ankle was actually feeling a lot better. She was able to walk _somewhat_ normally.

"What's wrong, man?" Michael asked as Charlie ran up to them, looking out of breath. He was almost completely covered in dirt and mud.

"It's Jack," Charlie gasped. "He's trapped."

"What?" Boone asked with surprise, glancing at Scarlett nervously. Her head tilted to one side in question.

"A cave collapsed," Charlie panted. "We don't even know if he's alive. Come on, we've gotta go."

Michael nodded frantically.

"Hey, uh, uh, Scott?" he said, pointing.

"I'm Steve," said the man he had pointed to.

"I'm Scott," said a man standing a little ways behind him. The two really did look alike.

"We've got an emergency," Michael said quickly. "Grab a couple of guys and let's go."

"We've got to go now," Charlie said urgently.

Scarlett started running off with Boone next to her, but then Boone stopped. Scarlett stopped as well to wait for him. Boone went back to where Shannon was sitting and talking to someone else

"Shannon," he said quietly. "You have to be ready to do something really important, okay? At five o'clock sharp, you have to be ready to turn that antenna on over there. There's a switch at the base."

Shannon looked at him blankly.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because Kate and Sayid are triangulating the French signal," Boone replied quickly. "But the antenna's power's really weak, so you have to wait until they fire _their _bottle rockets. Then you fire this one. Then you turn on the antenna. Got it?"

"The switch is where now?" Shannon asked. Boone sighed.

"Did you hear a word I said?" he asked. "Can you or can't you do it."

"Yeah," Shannon said with a laugh. "I can."

"Okay," said Boone, handing her the bottle rocket. "Okay."

He turned back to start running, and saw Scarlett waiting. He gave her a surprised, but pleased, look, and they started off running together.

"I guess this means you don't hate me anymore," he said as he ran.

"Guess so," Scarlett said nonchalantly, smiling at him. He laughed.

"How's your ankle?" he asked.

"It's been better, but I'll manage," Scarlett replied with a smile. Boone smiled as well, and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "About the water."

"Hey, it's all right," Scarlett replied. "I shouldn't have flipped out. All's forgiven."

Boone smiled again, and then they ran on in silence.

* * *

They reached the caves a little after everyone else, thanks to Scarlett's ankle slowing her down. Michael was in the caves, looking over some things. Everyone watched him quietly. 

"All right," he said. "This area here is load-bearing. We've got to dig where there's no danger of the wall buckling in on itself. Here. We dig in here so the wall doesn't collapse. Four at a time, by hand, until we can find some kind of shovel. We take shifts, and go slow. Whoever isn't digging should be clearing the rocks that we clear out, and bring the water to whoever is working. Okay. Let's move."

Hurley, the Korean man, Michael, and Boone all started grabbing rocks. They formed a sort of assembly line. Scarlett stood behind them and took the heavy rocks they handed her, passing them to the Korean woman. After a short time, Hurley needed a break, so she got in there with the rest of them, pulling up heavy rocks that she probably wouldn't have been able to lift if she wasn't going on sheer adrenaline.

Boone noticed her struggling with a large boulder and helped her out, lifting it with her. They rolled it out of the way and dropped back as Steve and Scott took their places. Boone got right into the assembly line, though he looked tired and ready to drop at any moment. Scarlett wanted to suggest to him that he take a break, but she knew he wouldn't listen. She knew that the reason he was working so hard was because he felt like he had something to prove. After screwing up heroic attempts twice, he was probably sick of failing.

So, she dropped back and got a water bottle that was filled and waiting for the workers. The Korean woman, who was filling the bottles up studiously, smiled at her. Scarlett smiled in return. "What's your name?" she asked. The woman just looked at her, confused. "Name?" Scarlett pointed to herself. "Scarlett," she said. Then, she pointed to the Korean woman questioningly.

"Oh," the woman said with understanding. "Sun."

"Sun," Scarlett said, smiling. "And…?" She trailed off and pointed to Sun's husband, who was working.

"Jin," Sun said, smiling. Scarlett smiled as well.

"Sun and Jin," she said thoughtfully. "It's nice to meet you."

Sun, though she didn't understand what Scarlett was saying, seemed to get the general idea of what Scarlett was saying, and she smiled, nodding and saying something pleasantly in Korean.

Scarlett waved goodbye and headed over to the assembly line with her water bottle. Boone tossed another rock into the growing pile. Scarlett unscrewed the top and just put the bottle in his mouth wordlessly. He gulped some down.

"Thanks," he panted. Scarlett put the water bottle down and took a rock that he handed her. Then they both had to grab a huge one that nearly knocked them both flat.

"Where's Sawyer?" she asked, heaving a rock at the pile and sighing.

"He probably heard that it was Jack who was trapped in here," Boone replied coldly after a pause. "He doesn't seem too fond of Jack."

"Yeah, but I don't think he would purposely just…not come," Scarlett argued. "Maybe he just hasn't heard."

"Maybe," Boone said, but Scarlett had a feeling he was just saying that to make her feel better. She gave him a look. He pretended that he didn't see it.

They moved further up the assembly line, and Scarlett found herself passing the rocks to Steve. Boone still stood in front of her.

"Where's Charlie?" he asked, half to himself. "He was right behind us coming up."

"I don't know," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "Maybe he's still getting people to help."

"We have enough people here already," Boone said with a heavy sigh. Scarlett shrugged and took another rock from him.

"I don't know," she said slowly. He was just passing another rock when Michael yelled to them.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "We're through! We got a hole!"

"Jack?" Hurley called, bending towards the hole they had made. "Jack? Can you hear me, Jack? Come on dude, answer me!" There was a short silence, and then Hurley yelled, triumphantly, "I hear him!"

"He's alive," Boone said with a smile, turning to face Scarlett and the other people behind him.

"Jack, bro, you okay?" Hurley asked. Scarlett moved closer to the cave, Boone following her.

"I'm pinned," Jack's faint voice called. "I can't move. I can't move."

"What do we do?" Hurley asked Michael. "How do we get him out?"

"Charlie was with me," Jack said, though Scarlett could barely hear him.

"He's okay," Hurley yelled through. "He made it out."

"Hey, listen, Jack…we're going to get you out of there, okay?" Michael said comfortingly.

Jack's only reply was a cough. Scarlett looked at Boone nervously. He returned the look, and they moved even closer to the small opening. Michael paced nervously, putting his hand to his forehead.

"What are we gonna do?" Scarlett asked. Michael thought in silence for a few more moments, and then he faced the rest of them.

"Okay," he said. "We can't safely make that tunnel any bigger, but since Jack can't get out, one of us is going to have to go in and unpin him."

"What, crawl through that?" Hurley asked doubtfully.

"I think we need someone smaller," Boone said.

"I could do it," Scarlett said, shrugging. Boone looked at her, shaking his head quickly.

"No," he said. "Your ankle…"

"I can crawl," Scarlett argued. Jin said something in Korean. Everyone just stared at him.

"Dude, we don't understand Chinese," Hurley said.

"Korean, man. They're Korean," Michael replied.

"I'll do it," said Charlie from behind them. They all turned around and looked at him as he walked forward.

"Charlie?" Hurley asked doubtfully.

"No man," Michael said firmly. "Look, you're still too shook up. I might be able to squeeze through…"

"Hey," Charlie interrupted, pointing towards Walt. "Who's going to take care of your son if something happens?" He pointed to Sun. "She's got a husband," he said. He pointed to Boone. "He's got a sister. I'm alone here, no one on the island. Let _me _do this."

"No, I'm smaller," Scarlett insisted, stepping forward. Boone put out a hand and placed it on her arm, preventing her from going any further. "I don't have anyone here either, and you're right. Charlie's very shaken up…"

"No," Charlie said firmly. "I gotta do this."

Scarlett sighed slightly and nodded, falling back beside Boone.

"You shouldn't do it anyway," he said comfortingly.

"Why not?" Scarlett muttered bitterly. Boone pulled her back as someone nearly walked into her, glaring at the offending individual.

"People," he muttered darkly, pulling her away from the crowd. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett lied. "Why?"

"You've been shaking like crazy for a while now. You don't look so good."

"Stop trying to change the subject," Scarlett said, cracking a smile. "Why don't you want me to go in there?"

Boone sighed, but he was smiling.

"All right," he said with the air of someone who is admitting a huge secret. "So I didn't want you to go in there."

"Why?" Scarlett asked, smirking slightly. Boone sighed.

"You can't make this easy for me, can you?" he asked. "So I'm worried about you, okay? Just like you were worried about me when I was swimming out there."

"Yeah, but you almost drowned," Scarlett reminded him. Boone sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "But that cave could collapse."

"It could collapse with Charlie in it too," Scarlett said.

"It could, but that just doesn't worry me as much," Boone replied. Scarlett gave him a shocked glance. "I don't mean it like that! You know what I mean!"

Scarlett _did _know what he meant, because she felt the same way. As much as she loved and adored Charlie, she knew that if Boone were to go into that cave, and if the cave were to collapse, then she would be way more upset than if it happened to Charlie. It was mean, it was _wrong_, but it was true.

"Yeah," she said, smiling up at him. "Now _that's _what I call a confidence boost."

"Oh, shut up," he said laughingly, shoving her with his shoulder. She shoved him back.

"I hope he's okay though," she said, gesturing towards the caves. "Jack."

"I'm sure he's fine," Boone said comfortingly. "And Charlie's gonna get him out of there soon. Don't worry."

"I'm trying not to," Scarlett replied as Michael started instructing Charlie on what to do. "But it's hard."

Boone smiled at her sadly and put his arm on her shoulder, like an armrest. She had to laugh, though there wasn't much feeling behind it.

"Way to make me feel short," she muttered.

"Sorry," Boone replied, but he didn't move his arm.

* * *

Back at the beach, Claire was writing in her diary when Shannon walked up. 

"Hey," she said quietly. Claire looked up at her and smiled.

"Hi!" she replied, setting the book down and sitting up from her reclined position. She had finally been allowed out of her tent, and had gone looking for Scarlett, but couldn't find her friend anywhere. She figured that maybe Scarlett had gone to look for Boone or Sawyer or Kate or someone else. The girl certainly seemed to have a lot of friends.

"So…" Shannon said awkwardly. "You're Scarlett's friend, right?"

"Yeah," Claire replied with a smile. "Yeah, I'd say so. Why?"

"I was just….you know, thinking," Shannon said slowly. "Scarlett doesn't want to tell me anything, so I thought I'd ask you…"

"Tell you what?" Claire prodded when Shannon didn't continue.

"What's going on between her and Boone," Shannon said, as if it were obvious. "Boone doesn't stop talking about her. Everything is 'Scarlett said this, Scarlett did that'. According to him, Scarlett's quite the comedian. Everything she says cracks him up."

"Okay…" Claire said, shrugging. "Yeah, Scarlett's funny."

"I mean…I'm just like…thank _God _she's not mad at him anymore, because I was seriously considering asking Jack to put him on some kind of island suicide watch. He was like…so out of it. He was just _depressed_, you know?"

"Well, she _did _kind of flip out on him," Claire pointed out, though inwardly, she was happy to know that Scarlett and Boone had made up, and she made a mental note to tell Scarlett about how upset he had been.

"But do you think there's anything going on?" Shannon asked, sitting down at last beside the other girl. Claire pulled her legs up to give Shannon some room.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I thought there was something between her and Sawyer, but I think she and Boone are just friends."

"Sawyer?" Shannon asked incredulously. "That _asshole_? Scarlett could do _so _much better than _him_."

"I know!" Claire exclaimed, glad she finally found someone to talk to all this about besides her little diary. "I think so too! I don't want to say anything, though."

"He's hot, I'll admit that," Shannon said begrudgingly.

"Yeah, dreamy," Claire agreed with a shy little giggle.

"But he is _such _a jerk."

"Scarlett seems to like him," Claire remarked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but…why?"

"Maybe he's nice to her?" Claire suggested. Shannon thought for a moment.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "Or maybe she's just falling for the wrong guy."

"Maybe," Claire agreed. "I really hope she isn't."

Shannon nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah," she said after a pause. "Yeah, me neither. She seems too nice to get mixed up with a guy like him, you know?"

"Yeah," Claire said with a smile. "She is."

* * *

_"Scarlett, sweetie, come here!"_

_"What?"_

_Ten year old Scarlett looked up from her doll she was playing with. Her mother stood over her with a boy, maybe a little older than her, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. _

_"This is Stephen," her mother said kindly. "You know Becca? My friend? This is her son."_

_"Hi Stephen," Scarlett said shyly. "I'm Scarlett."_

_"Hey," Stephen said with a small smile. _

_"You're the only person here close to his age," Scarlett's mother said with a sigh. "So please play nice."_

_"I will mommy," Scarlett promised with angelic cuteness._

_"Hey, Lucy!" called someone from within the house. Scarlett's mother turned._

_"Yeah," she called back. "I'm coming." She turned to face Stephen. "You two have fun," she said kindly, and then she turned and hurried into the house. _

_There was an awkward silence in which Scarlett sat there, staring at Stephen openly, as he looked studiously the other way. Scarlett wrinkled her nose. She didn't like silences. _

_"You know you're the only person 'sides me who has freckles like that," she said to start the conversation._

_"What?" Stephen asked, looking like he was trying hard not to laugh._

_"Your freckles," Scarlett said, pointing. "See how you got them only on your cheeks like that? I do too. I've never seen anyone else who had it."_

_Stephen smiled and sat down on the edge of the sandbox. _

_"Yeah," he said. "You know, me neither."_

_"That's because we're the only ones special enough to have freckles like that," Scarlett giggled._

_"Are we now," Stephen laughed. "I didn't know that."_

_"Well, we are," Scarlett replied seriously. Stephen smiled and nodded, but Scarlett could tell he was just faking it._

_"You know, you could at least _try _to have fun," she said with some annoyance. _

_"Huh?" Stephen asked, his head turning back to face Scarlett. _

_"You're acting like you're too cool to play with a ten year old. Now…I may only be ten, but I bet I'm a hell of a lot more fun than your other friends who just want to look at porn all day and talk about girls' boobs."_

_Stephen didn't have anything to say. He just stared at Scarlett, open mouthed. _

_"You're…ten, right?" he asked, aghast._

_"You grow up with the two dad's _I've _had, and you learn a lot of shit," Scarlett said proudly._

_"Like what?" Stephen asked; smiling and moving so he was sitting _in _the sandbox instead of on the edge._

_"Like what porn is and pretty much every random insult you can think of."_

_"You got any examples?"_

_Scarlett smiled devilishly at him._

_"You have _no _idea…"

* * *

_

**Next Chapter:**

Julie was stupid and forgot to edit the second half of The Moth, and has no time to do so at the moment, and decided that getting the chapter up is more important. As it is eleven o'clock, Julie is also going to die in school tomorrow of either fatigue or heat. Sorry to keep you in suspense!


	20. The Moth Part 2

Update time!

I have finals all next week (ugh), so I might not be updating until Thursday. (I have "A" period on Thursday and that's it…and "A" is my gym class…so I'm thinking of just not going to school! YES!) But anyway, unless I get the time, this could be the last one for a while.

Another freaky thing happened to me! I can't really tell you too much about this one, because it involves Mr. Blank, but basically he and Scarlett have a song (cheesy, yes, but I had a dream about it, and it kinda stuck). I was writing about it in French class in my notebook in my little AU story about them getting rescued. THEN, I went to gym class, and at the end of that, this girl was singing the song! And it's not like it was a well known song. It was an old one that I, myself, hadn't heard until it came on the radio! So random!

Okay, so anyyywaaayy! Thanks for the reviews friends! Hopefully many more to come, because you know it makes my day! And mucho thanks to those who _did _review!

**Dragon Blade 5: **YAY! I did update! Thanks for the review!

**Chrizz: **Haha, thanks for the review. Yes, yes, Sawyer does tend to have that effect on people. Boone usually too! Haha, remember what he said, though. It felt like something pulled him under. My theory always was A: The island has crazy and unpredictable riptides, or B: There was something in that water that didn't want Joanna to make it, and so prevented Boone from saving her. And poor Boone beat himself up over it enough :( And…a little spoiler…he's still not totally over it. I don't think he ever really will be…at least not in this story!

**Saraiyu: **Haha, yes! Shirts are awesome! I love mine to death. And I'm sure you're not the _only _one who wants Scroone. After all, it's such a fun name to say! Don't worry. I'm sure other people will learn to love Scroone in time. Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Haha, _I _forget about Scarlett's ankle too! I'll be writing and suddenly remember "oh crap! Scarlett's ankle! type type type." I have a document called "Ideas for later" which has things in it I'm supposed to remember for later. Whenever I'm typing, it's open. It's a problem when I can't even remember things about Scarlett! I love Charlie too. A lot! Poor little guy. He's extremely adorable! My sister's obsessed with him! Thanks for the review!

**Pink Hardcore: **I tried to write something fluffy and cute for the beginning of their romance. But yes, he is an asshole. And I _will _reveal how he became such an asshole. There's definitely a turning point. Thanks for the remark about depth. That made me happy, lol. Scroone! Haha, I just love saying that word. A lot of people seem to like Scawyer better. I'm still not saying anything! Lol! Oh, and I totally know the feeling on lack of sleep meaning sucky spelling. I know it well! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Another Scrooner! Or are you just kidding? Lol! I'm confused! I'm glad you like this chapter so much! Hopefully, this one will be even better! Haha! Thanks for the review!

Just for this chapter, I'm going to try the trailer, and see if people like it better than the excerpts.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

**The Moth (2): **Rescue

"Listen man, go slow," Michael said to Charlie. "Try not to nudge any of the rocks around you."

"Anything else?" Charlie asked, looking nervous. Michael sighed sympathetically.

"Yeah," he said. "Good luck."

Charlie nodded and looked down at the ground. Boone stepped forward and handed him a water bottle.

"Be safe man," he said. Scarlett stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Be careful, Charlie," she said sadly.

"Good luck, Charlie," Hurley intoned. Scarlett stepped back next to Boone, who was eyeing her worriedly.

"All right," Charlie said slowly. "Thanks, guys."

He started crawling into the hole slowly. Scarlett slowly started to back away, hoping that Boone wouldn't notice. Luckily for her, he didn't. She moved towards Sun.

"Hi," she said, even though she knew that Sun didn't understand a word she was saying. "I'm just feeling a little dizzy. I'm going to get some water."

She bent down and picked up a bottle, taking a sip greedily. She was starting to get really lightheaded. That often happened when she was stressed out. She didn't know why it happened, but it happened a lot. And it was happening again.

She started back over to where everyone was waiting for some news about Charlie's progress. Michael and Hurley were just bent towards the mouth of the cave, watching. Boone looked at her when she reappeared, looking surprised.

"Where'd you go?" he asked.

"To get some water," Scarlett replied, holding up the bottle. "Here. Have some."

Boone took the water gratefully and took a sip."

"Thanks," he said. He looked down at her again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a laugh. "I told you before. I'm fine."

"Okay," Boone said slowly. "Are you sure? Because you really don't look good."

"It's just the stress," Scarlett replied casually. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking though."

"Maybe you'd better sit down," Boone suggested carefully. Scarlett sighed.

"No," she protested. "No, really, I'm fine."

Boone ignored her protests and put both of his hands on her shoulders, pushing her towards the entrance of the cave until they reached a big rock nearby that someone had partially rolled out. She sighed, and he pushed her down, crouching in front of her. People barely even glanced at her as Boone took the water bottle from her, unscrewed the top, and made her drink some.

"Come on, drink," he ordered gently.

"Boone, really, I'm fine," Scarlett laughed, pushing the bottle away. Suddenly, the cave began to rumble. Scarlett looked towards the mouth of the hole, aghast.

"Charlie?" Michael called. "Charlie, move! Charlie?"

"Oh my gosh," Scarlett exclaimed, trying to jump up. Boone stood up as well and put a steadying hand on her arm, starting to pull her away from the mouth of the collapsing cave. She didn't even bother to tell him that she was fine and that she didn't need his help. Of course, if she wanted to be perfectly honest, then she would have to say that that wasn't entirely true, because she was definitely feeling a little more dizzy. She unconsciously leaned more into Boone.

The cave kept rumbling. Michael was shouting for Charlie, but there was no answer. Dust and rocks started rolling down from the top of the cave, causing eyes to water and lungs to be clogged. The cave was soon full of coughing, angry people, and the hole to Jack was very clearly completely closed in.

"Charlie?" called Michael. There was no answer. "Jack?" Still no reply from those trapped inside.

"What do we do?" Scarlett asked tremulously.

"We need to get them out of there," Steve said. Scott gave him an angry look.

"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered.

"Hey, hey, Charlie?" Hurley called tentatively.

"We need more people here," Michael said. "We need to work really fast. Who knows how bad they're hurt."

"Dude…are we just gonna keep sending people in there until they all die?" Hurley asked. "We need to find some other way to get in there."

"There _is _no other way!" Michael exclaimed. "Unless you want to _drill _into where they are, then this is pretty much all we got."

"I think we should go look for shovels," said a man that Scarlett didn't recognize. "There's gotta be _some _on the plane!"

"We could," Michael said slowly.

"We can't just leave them," Boone said calmly.

"They're gonna run out of air," Hurley said.

"Stop talking. I'm trying to think," Michael said, making a face. Boone sighed and turned around. Scarlett saw his eyes widen, and he made that wiggling eyebrow face. She turned as well and saw Kate walking towards them, looking frantic.

"Where is he?" she asked. Everyone stared at her. When she spoke again, it was considerably louder. "Where is he?"

"Kate…" Scarlett began, but she trailed off when Kate ignored her.

"Where is he?" she asked again. "Where's Jack?"

There was a long, awkward pause, in which no one moved or said anything. No one wanted to tell her that they didn't even know if he was alive. Who would? However, at least someone said it.

"He's in there," said Hurley, gesturing with his head towards where the hole once was.

"Does anyone know if he's alive?" Kate asked. Once again her words were met with silence. "Is he alive?"

"We don't know," Michael said, obviously losing patience. "Charlie went in there through a tunnel that we dug, but it collapsed."

"Why is nobody digging?" Kate asked viciously. She hurried over and started pulling the rocks off the pile. Michael and Hurley started right away as well. Sun walked over and started to help with Jin. Scarlett stood up to help, but Boone pushed her back down gently.

"You've done enough for one day," he said. Scarlett shook her head vehemently.

"Boone," she said slowly. "You know that if you were feeling sick that you wouldn't stop working for one minute, no matter what anyone tried to get you to do. I'm not any different. I want to help save Charlie and Jack, so I'm going to help save Charlie and Jack."

Boone stared at her for a long moment, regarding her like he was looking at someone he had just met for the first time, but had heard a lot about.

"Okay," he said slowly. "But just…if you're feeling like you're going to faint or…throw up or something. Just tell me."

"Okay," Scarlett promised with a smile that held no humor behind it. "I will."

She and Boone both started working side by side, passing rocks to one another and helping each other push away the heavier ones. Every so often, one would grab the other water. Both of them, however, had their eyes on Kate. Everyone knew that there was something between she and Jack. What would happen to her if he ended up dying? Sure they had only known one another for like…eight days, but time _did _seem to stretch out when you spent every waking moment of every day with people. She might as well have known him for a year.

They worked on in silence. Scarlett was definitely feeling sick and dizzy, but she wasn't going to let herself give up. She had to keep trying. She had to keep pushing. She wasn't going to let Charlie and Jack die because she was too weak to do it. She had to be strong.

"Hey Kate, you need to take a break," Michael said to Kate gently.

"I'd fine," Kate replied stubbornly.

"We've got enough people to dig," Michael tried again. "You keep going at this pace, you're going to kill yourself."

Kate just kept working. Michael figured the attempt was useless.

"You should probably take a break too," Boone tried. Scarlett just shot him a look.

"No," she said, practically growling. He sighed.

"Scarlett, I'm only trying to make sure you don't get hurt," he said. Scarlett heaved a sigh.

"I know," she said slowly. "But I can't stop now. I have to keep going."

Boone sighed and took a rock from her.

"I'm really close to just dragging you back to the beach myself," he said. "You need to sit down. You look sick."

"I'm aware," Scarlett snapped. "I get shaky and pale when I'm stressed out, all right? It's nothing I can't handle."

Boone gave her a look that was filled with pure worry. She sighed.

"It's all right," she said comfortingly. "Trust me. I'm fine."

Boone obviously didn't believe her, but he just worked on in silence.

* * *

After a few more minutes of working, though it seemed like an eternity, Walt ran up to the group.

"Hey, it's the doctor!" he said with excitement, pointing to where Jack and Charlie had just walked around from behind the caves. Kate ran to Jack and threw her arms around him in a hug. Charlie just stood there smiling.

"Ow," Jack said, laughing. "Easy, my shoulder, careful."

"How'd you get out?" Hurley asked giddily.

"Charlie," Jack said, looking at Charlie proudly. "Charlie found a way out."

"Dude!" Hurley exclaimed. "You rock!"

He enveloped Charlie in a huge hug. Scarlett hugged him as well.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said to the both of them.

"Yeah, well, it's all thanks to Charlie," Jack said, shrugging. Charlie smiled even brighter.

* * *

Scarlett was over getting another water bottle from Sun; this one to bring back for she and Claire, when Boone walked up.

"You going back to the beach?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a smile. "You?"

"Yeah," Boone said. "Come on. I'll walk you back."

"Sounds good," Scarlett said, and she waved goodbye to Sun before walking off with Boone into the woods.

It was starting to get dark, but Scarlett wasn't afraid. She would have been a few days before, but she was starting to get used to life on the island. They hadn't heard that thing in the woods for a while, either. Everyone liked to think that it had died or something, but Scarlett had a feeling it was still out there. It just probably decided to leave them alone or something.

Just thinking of the creature, though she was trying to tell herself that she wasn't afraid at all, made Scarlett slightly scared, and she started moving slightly faster. Boone noticed and laughed under his breath.

"Thinking about that thing, are you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a smile in his direction.

"Me too," Boone said. "Well, it's not _that _far of a walk to the beach."

"Shut up," Scarlett laughed, shoving him playfully.

"Hey, I'll admit it. I'm scared too."

"I'm not exactly _scared_," Scarlett protested. "It's just…weird being out here."

"Well…I'm still scared," Boone admitted. Scarlett laughed and pulled his arm into hers, so it was hooked through.

"Better?" she asked, as if she were talking to a baby.

"Much," Boone replied in the same tone. They walked on in silence for a little while, with her arm in his.

"This reminds me of some old movie," Scarlett laughed. "Like you're escorting me down the street or something."

"Yeah, only they didn't have monsters living in the jungle," Boone muttered, glancing to his right slightly. Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah, true," she said. "Or airplanes that crashed on deserted islands with French ladies and polar bears."

"That too," Boone said with a laugh.

They continued on walking, laughing and chatting, not knowing that back at the beach, a conversation was being held about them at that very instant.

* * *

"Where _are _they?" Shannon asked. She had returned to sitting across from Claire several moments before, and was starting to look worried. "Do you think they're staying at the caves overnight?"

"I'm sure they're heading back," Claire replied in an assuring tone.

"They'd better be," Shannon muttered. "I'm not going to wait up all night just so they can have a little sleepover."

Claire laughed just as Sawyer happened to walk by.

"You seen Scarlett?" he asked. Shannon's smile immediately disappeared.

"Last I saw her, she was headed to the caves with Boone," she said coldly. "But that was way earlier."

"Yeah, but shouldn't she be back by now?" Sawyer asked, sounding slightly aggravated.

"They might have just stayed there," Shannon said casually. "It's getting pretty late, you know?"

"Right," Sawyer muttered, moving off without a 'thank you' or a 'goodbye'. Shannon smiled.

"Talk about bursting his ego," she muttered. Claire laughed.

"Yeah, that deflated him," she said. "Though I feel a little bad, since Scarlett's going to have to deal with him later."

"Yeah," Shannon snorted. "Oh well. That's what she gets for befriending a guy like that."

People walking by the pair were very blatant about staring at the two sitting in the sand. They certainly made an odd pair. The pregnant girl and the diva. Who would have thought that they'd ever be enjoying each other's company?

Perhaps the two people that found the pairing oddest were Scarlett and Boone, walking out of the woods, no longer arm in arm, chatting amiably. When they saw Shannon and Claire, they looked at one another incredulously and then back at the two girls, looking very comically confused.

"Is that…?" Boone asked, squinting so he could see better through the sunset.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, making a face. "Huh. Well, I guess that's cool."

"Weird," Boone pointed out. "Usually, Shannon's only friends are ones with size zero waists and a book full of secrets to get money out of the guys they date."

Scarlett glanced at Boone quickly. There was something in his voice that hinted at a painful secret. What was with everyone on the island and their goddamned secrets? Of course, Scarlett had some secrets of her own, so she wasn't really one to talk, but it seemed like everyone had pounds upon pounds of baggage to deal with.

"Hey, remember that we're all getting a second chance here," she said cheerfully. "That means Shannon too. Maybe she's deciding to take advantage of it."

"I don't know…" Boone said doubtfully. Scarlett realized that they had stopped walking, and she pulled his arm lightly as she started moving again.

"Hey, Claire! Hey, Shannon," she said with a bright smile for both of them. "Good news! Both Jack and Charlie are okay!"

"Charlie?" Claire asked, and Scarlett could sense the smallest bit of fear beneath her mask of impersonal concern.

"He went in through a hole in the cave to go after Jack," Boone explained, refusing to look at Claire. "It collapsed, and we all thought that both of them were dead, but they ended up being okay."

"Thank God!" Claire exclaimed, looking extremely relieved. "Did Charlie come back here?"

"No, he's still at the caves," Scarlett said. Claire tried to hide her disappointment, but she didn't do it all that well."

"I'm sure he'll come down to visit tomorrow," Boone said, glancing at Scarlett and smiling slightly. Scarlett returned the smile and then looked back down at Claire.

"Yeah," Claire said. "I'm just glad he's okay."

"Me too," Boone and Scarlett agreed in unison. Shannon stood up and dusted herself off.

"I'm going to bed," she said. "Boone?"

Boone sighed and nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll be there in a sec."

"Fine," Shannon said, rolling her eyes. "Night Claire, night Scarlett."

"Night," they both replied, waving. Shannon gave Boone a glare before folding her arms across her chest and stalking away. Boone glared after her for a minute and then turned to face Scarlett with a shrug.

"All right," he said reluctantly. "I guess I'm leaving then."

"All right," Scarlett said, not bothering to hide her disappointment. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I'm thinking about going to the caves," Boone said. "I wanted to stock up on water. You wanna come?"

"Yeah, sure," Scarlett said, smiling. "Another little journey, and this time in the _light _should be fun."

"Yeah," Boone replied with a laugh. "Well…see ya."

Scarlett surprised Boone by reaching out and hugging him. After the initial moment of shock, he returned the hug.

"Bye," he said with a half-smile. Scarlett waved and waited until he had turned around and was starting to walk away before she returned to sit with Claire. The other girl shot her an amused smile.

"Don't even start," Scarlett sighed. "I'm not going to hear it."

"You know you like him," Claire teased.

"What are we, in high school?" Scarlett asked with a laugh, pulling out her journal. "Besides, that is very untrue. We're friends."

"You might wanna make sure he knows that," Claire muttered. Scarlett shot her a look. Claire just laughed and lay back. "Good night."

"Night," Scarlett responded, and she lay back and closed her eyes.

* * *

"Wait a minute, Metro."

Boone froze as the voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw Sawyer standing there, glaring at him.

"What is it, Sawyer?" he asked tiredly. "I'm trying to go to bed."

"I saw that little stunt you pulled on Scarlett just a second ago."

Boone rolled his eyes and heaved a huge sigh.

"She hugged me, Sawyer, all right? Besides, I don't see what the big deal is…"

"She hugged you? Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that one," Sawyer snorted. "She can't stand you. Even _before _the whole thing with the water, she was saying what a failure you are. I think she blames you for the death of her friend there. What was her name?"

Boone swallowed and looked down at the ground studiously.

"Joanna," he growled through clenched teeth.

"Yeah," Sawyer said, smiling wickedly. "That's the one."

"Look, Sawyer," Boone snapped. "What's your point?"

"My point is that this is a friendly competition. Winner gets the girl. Loser…gets nothing."

"Me and Scarlett are just friends."

"You can say that all you want, boy, but I didn't miss the look on your face when she hugged you."

"You know what, fuck you," Boone sneered. "I don't have to stand here and listen to this." He turned and started to walk away.

"Hey, I'm just trying to warn you that I'm gonna use every means necessary to win this competition."

Boone stopped in his tracks and turned back to face Sawyer.

"It's not a fucking competition," he hissed. "I don't know what your problem is, but there is nothing between me and Scarlett. We're _just _friends!"

"You know," Sawyer responded languidly. "I've always been pretty good at tellin' when people are lying to me. You notice just a little glimmer in their eye. Fear, maybe. Maybe somethin' else. Whatever it is, it's there, and every time you try and tell me that you and Sox are just friends, I see it."

"Say whatever you want, Sawyer," Boone muttered. "I'm going to bed."

He turned around and started walking away.

"Sweet dreams," Sawyer said mockingly. "May the best man win."

Boone just walked on, pretending that he didn't hear him, but Sawyer knew by the angry hunching of his shoulders that he had.

* * *

_Scarlett was running, running, but she couldn't get away._

_"You can't run forever," yelled Anthony from somewhere behind her. The thunder crashed and the lightning roared, and Scarlett couldn't help but scream. _

_"Just leave!" she screamed as she ran. ''Just _leave_!"_

_She ran into a clearing where she saw Boone and Sawyer facing one another. Sawyer held a gun in his hand, and was pointing it straight at the other man. Sawyer looked angry. Boone looked scared. _

_"What are you doing?" she asked Sawyer incredulously, trying to grab the gun. He just moved it and shoved her back. _

_"This has nothing to do with you," he growled. _

_"It has _everything_ to do with her!" Boone yelled. "She has a right to know!" Sawyer slowly started to squeeze the trigger. _

_"Sawyer! No!" Scarlett screamed, and she lunged forward. The heard the gun fire, and both Boone and Sawyer yelled. She fell to the ground, surprisingly painless, staring at the sky. _

_"You killed her!" Boone screamed. "You killed her!"_

_The last thing she saw was Sawyer looking down at her, tears falling from his eyes…_

* * *

"You okay?"

Scarlett awoke to find Claire sitting up, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. "Why?"

"You were saying something," she said. I couldn't understand you."

"Oh…it must've been a dream."

"Okay, just making sure," Claire said with a smile. She lay back down. "Good night…again."

"Yeah, night," Scarlett replied. She lay down as well, closing her eyes and falling into an uneasy sleep.

**Next Chapter: **

_(Scarlett walks towards the trees. Suddenly, Boone staggers out, bloody and bruised. He almost falls, but Scarlett catches him.)_

**Scarlett: **Help!

_(Jack, Boone, Sayid, and Scarlett all sit at the caves. Boone is still bloody.)_

**Jack: **What happened?

_(Boone looks at Scarlett sadly.)_

**Boone: **Sawyer.

_(Jack cleans up Boone.)_

**Boone: **If he has my book, he has my luggage. If he has my luggage, he has the inhalers. Her breathing got really rough today man.

_(Shannon breathes heavily, resting against a rock.)_

**Scarlett: **Are you okay?

**Shannon: **_(Coldly) _Yeah, I'm fine.

_(Back to Jack cleaning Boone)_

**Boone: **If she has an attack, it's not going to be good.

_(Scarlett walks up to Sawyer)_

**Scarlett: **Why won't you give me the inhalers?

**Sawyer: **I didn't give them to Jackass; I'm not giving them to you. What makes you think you're so different?

_(Scarlett looks at him, hurt.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	21. Confidence Man Part 1

Finals are OVER! Yes! Finally! Thank GOD! Now I can update!

Thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all! PLEASE remember to review again!

**ShalBrenFan: **Another Scrooner, eh? Well, anything can happen! Glad you like the same ships as me! That makes me happy, lol. Skate and PB+J are most definitely the cutest things alive, while Shoone delivers exactly the right kind of angsty goodness. And I'll give you a little peek at what is to come…Boone and Sawyer don't hate each other for too much longer! Ooo! Spoiler! Haha! Thanks for the review! It seems that you and I have a lot alike.

**Saraiyu: **Thanks for the good luck! I think I did pretty good. (I got a 95 on my History! Woot!) I tried to get through editing the chapter on Tuesday, but by the time I was done studying, it was already eleven thirty…so I didn't have the chance to get it up. I was extremely mad! But anyway, here's the next chapter, as promised! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Haha, Scroone is such a fun word to say! And yay! I made it even better! I'm improving myself! Haha, oh that makes me so excited! Your story was awesome, as I said in my review (hehe) and I hope you update it soon! (hint, hint!) Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Hehe, Sawyer is so cute. Yeah, I'd say Shannon does care about Boone. A lot more will come out in this story, but for now let's just say she cares and leave it at that! Haha! Scarlett's dreams will get scarier and more violent. The one I just finished writing a couple of days ago was pretty weird. It was for Raised By Another and had a lot of foreshadowing in it. Scary stuff! Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Thanks for the review and the flattery! I love it! Lol! I try to stick to the show as much as I can. That involves a lot of research, actually, but at least it's fun research! Thanks again!

**Grace: **(A.K.A.: My Zombah Sped!) Grace! I love you! Haha, hmm…now why did I choose the name 'Anthony'? Hmmmmm cough cough. Oh, and Stephen is _so _not based on Pete. Not at all. Nope. Hehe! I circle you zombah sped!

**Redhoddedsweatshirt: **Haha, I wanted to continue, but my finals study was: first day, French and English; second day, bio and geometry; and third day, drama and history. It was a ton of work. Sorry I had to stop! Thanks for the review though!

* * *

**Confidence Man (1): **Problems with Sawyer.

"Hey, Sox. Long time no see."

Scarlett turned around from where she was sitting next to the water and smiled at Sawyer, who walked up behind her, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked down at her.

"Yeah," she said. "Where were you yesterday? We could have used your help."

"I went to tell Freckles that Jacko was stuck in the cave," Sawyer replied. "She was off with Abdul."

"Wait, wait…" Scarlett said thoughtfully. "I'm gonna guess that Freckles is…Kate?"

Sawyer laughed and took a seat beside Scarlett.

"Yeah," he said.

"And Abdul has to be Sayid."

"Yup."

"I'm getting good at this," Scarlett proclaimed proudly. "Though it would still be easier to just use people's right names."

"Yeah," Sawyer said, shrugging with an infectious grin. "Maybe…but where's the fun in that?"

Scarlett laughed and shook her head, looking out at the ocean briefly before looking back at Sawyer.

"So what're you up to?" she asked. "Just being your usual, lazy self?"

"Yup," Sawyer sighed proudly, grinning at her. "Another restful day in Sawyer-land."

"Uh huh," Scarlett laughed. "You wish."

Sawyer laughed as well, but fell broodingly silent. He looked out at the ocean. After a long pause, he spoke again.

"Still not sure about whether or not you want to be rescued?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She sighed, trying not to flinch under his gaze.

"No," she said simply. "I'm not."

He nodded and sighed and shifted, moving his legs into a more comfortable position.

"Eventually, you'll be beggin' to get back to the States, Sox. Once the fun stops and the real fighting begins, I predict there's not a soul who'll be safe."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, like Abdul said…people are gonna start to not follow the rules. Once people start to lose hope, they start to figure…why bother? Why bother living life peaceful when you can live it on top? So the fighting starts. The camp splits. People start living for themselves and only themselves. And eventually, something big's gonna happen, and _that's _when the people start dying. No trust, no compassion…just the worst in people finally coming out." He looked at Scarlett seriously. "You ever killed a man, Sox?"

Scarlett shook her head, staring at him dumbly.

"No," she murmured.

"I didn't think so," he said quietly. "You're too nice for that kind of thing. But when the time comes, and when this thing finally goes down…nice just ain't gonna cut it. So you see…you'd better start prayin' for rescue, Sox. 'Cus at least back there, there's places to hide. There's people to rely on. Out here there's just you and forty-six other people. Forty-six ain't all that much, but it's too many when they're all angry."

For a few moments after Sawyer spoke, they just stared at one another. Then Scarlett blinked and looked down at the sand.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "But how do you know that's going to happen?"

"I don't, Sox," Sawyer replied, standing up. "Basic human nature. See you around. I'm off to take a bath."

"Okay," Scarlett said, smiling sadly and waving goodbye. He walked off, whistling to himself. A few moments later, after staring out to the ocean and brooding thoughtfully, Scarlett got up and moved off to find Boone.

* * *

She found him at his shelter, without Shannon. He was staring at something in his hand.

"Hey," she said. He looked up at her with surprise and hurriedly shoved whatever was in his hand into his pocket.

"Hey," he responded, sounding upset about something.

"You still going to the caves?" Scarlett asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Um…yeah," Boone said slowly. "Look…" He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "Sawyer was saying something last night to me, and I just…I wanted to get some things straight…"

Scarlett tilted her head to one side in question.

"Okay…" she said slowly.

"He was saying that you blamed me for Joanna's death…"

"What?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "He said _what_?"

Boone looked nervous.

"He said we were having a competition. For you. He said that he'd use any means necessary to win it. I just…I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or just using those necessary means…"

He trailed off as Scarlett groaned dramatically.

"When will he realize that I don't _need _anything more than friendship right now?" Scarlett asked, looking up at the sky with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Boone. Look, I  
do _not _blame you for Joanna's death in the _slightest_. That was just Sawyer being…Sawyer."

"Okay," Boone said slowly. He looked down at the ground.

"Hey!" Scarlett exclaimed. He looked up at her with surprise. She smiled at him. "I mean it. Come on, let's go to the caves. And try to have a good time. You don't smile enough!"

He smiled at her sarcastically. She laughed and picked up the water bottle at his feet. He stood up slowly, looking like he was in pain. She shot him a questioning look.

"I didn't get much sleep," he admitted. "I haven't been."

"Oh," Scarlett said sympathetically. "I'm sure there's _some _kind of sleeping medicine around here."

"Yeah," Boone said. "But I don't wanna use it up. Someone else might need it."

"Well…you need it," Scarlett pointed out.

"Having it would be lovely, but I don't need it," he retorted. She sighed.

"Always looking out for other people," she said, shaking her head.

"As if that's a bad thing," Boone laughed. Scarlett laughed as well.

* * *

Sawyer, out in the water, saw Scarlett and Boone walking companionably towards the path to the caves. He growled under his breath and ducked underwater to think.

That stupid pretty boy seemed to have her heart in his hand. He just didn't know it…or did he? Sawyer had always been pretty good at noticing stuff like this, but there were times when Boone seemed truthfully ignorant of the power that he had over Scarlett. But… did Scarlett even feel anything for him?

It was all so confusing. He surfaced again, looking for the happy pair. He caught sight of them vanishing into the trees. He sighed and rolled his eyes. The competition wasn't over yet…

Glancing towards his stuff, he saw Kate standing there, looking at it; holding a bunch of bananas over one shoulder. He smiled and rose out of the water, seeing her expression turn to weariness. He always could bug someone else…

* * *

At the beginning of the path to the caves, Boone suddenly stopped, thinking of something.

"Can we delay this trip for a few minutes?" he asked. Scarlett looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah," she said. "Why?"

"I have to get something. It'll be quick. You can just sit here and wait if you want."

"Yeah, okay," she said. Boone smiled at her and walked off towards the other side of the beach.

* * *

_"Hi, is Scarlett there?"_

_"Yeah. Who's this?"_

_"Stephen."_

_"Oh, hi Stephen! You're calling for Scarlett?"_

_"Yeah."_

_Lucy Hanson smiled and looked at her husband, Mark. _

_"It's Becca's son," she said. "He's calling for Scarlett."_

_"Oh," Mark said, smiling. "That's cute."_

_"Yeah," Lucy replied, laughing. "Hey, Scarlett?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Eleven year old Scarlett walked out of the family room and into the kitchen, where her mother was standing with the portable phone in hand. _

_"Phone for you, sweetie," Lucy replied. Scarlett smiled._

_"Okay," she said. She took the phone and hurried into her room, ignoring the laughter of her mom and step-dad. "Hello?"_

_"Hey, Scarlett. It's Stephen."_

_"Hey," Scarlett said, flopping down on her bed with a wide smile._

_"What're you doing tomorrow after school? Cus my mom was thinking of going over to visit your mom, and she asked me if I wanted to go. I just wanted to see if you would be home before I said yes or anything."_

_"Um…no, I'm not doing anything," Scarlett said, smiling to herself, making a note to tell Carol that she wasn't going to be able to go over. _

_"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."_

_"Yeah. Yeah, that'll be fun."_

_"See ya."_

_"Bye."_

_Scarlett waited until she heard the click which meant that Stephen had just hung up before she hung up her end of the line, sighing happily. So tomorrow he would be coming over…well…she just couldn't wait.

* * *

_

"What are you doing in my stuff, son?"

Boone whirled around to face Sawyer, eyes widening in surprise.

"I…I…" he stammered, unable to think of the right words to say. The only word that came to mind was 'shit', and that really wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"I asked you," Sawyer said lowly. "What are you doing in my stuff?"

The anger in his voice snapped Boone out of his fear, and he glared at Sawyer.

"I need Shannon's inhalers," he said forcedly.

"What's that, Metro?" Sawyer asked. "I think you're looking in the wrong place. Everything in this place belongs to me."

"You have my book!" Boone exclaimed.

"Wrong," Sawyer said with a wicked smile. "See, boy…that's _my_ book. It may say your pretty little name in it, but it's mine. And you know how I know that?" He took a step towards Boone. "'Cus I found it. And a man has a right to his property, don't he?"

"Yeah? But I found it here, so that makes it mine now," Boone said. Then he paused, and said, "I'm taking it _and _the inhalers with me."

"Not if I stop you," Sawyer growled, and he moved swiftly towards Boone.

* * *

Scarlett waited for a while for Boone to come out of the woods. After what felt like an hour, but was probably only half that amount of time (if even), she got sick of waiting and just went to go look for him herself. She didn't have to go any farther than the edge of the woods, because just as she reached it, Boone stumbled out, covered with blood and gasping for breath.

Scarlett's first reaction was to stare in horror. Her second was to say his name questioningly, as if not quite sure it was him, or as if she wasn't positive he knew where he was. He staggered forward and almost fell, but Scarlett caught him in her arms. He sagged against her, coughing and grimacing in pain.

"Help!" she shouted to get the attention of someone who might be nearby. Thankfully, there were two such people. One of them was Shannon. The other was Stephanie. They seemed to be having a lovely little chat. It didn't take too much brainpower to figure out what it was they had been talking about. Stephanie looked absolutely horrified. Shannon looked a little scared.

"What the hell happened?" she asked as she reached the two of them.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied. "Boone? Boone? Are you okay?"

Boone murmured something she didn't quite catch.

"We should get him to Jack," Stephanie said quickly.

"Yeah," Shannon agreed. "Let's go to the caves. I'll take him."

"I'll go with you," Scarlett said quickly, before Stephanie could say anything. "I was going to the caves anyway."

Though Boone was only half-conscious, and looked like he was going to be sick, he gave Scarlett an appreciative glance. She half-smiled at him; half-bit her lip in worry.

"You stay here," Shannon said to Stephanie. "Me and Scarlett can handle it."

Boone was starting to get a little heavy. Scarlett shifted her weight so she could better hold him. He groaned in pain.

"Sorry," she whispered, then fell silent. He was saying something she couldn't understand. She leaned closer, and her eyes narrowed when she heard what he said.

"Sawyer."

* * *

Shannon and Scarlett, holding Boone between them, arrived at the camp a bit later, gasping for breath and tired. Boone had, thankfully, regained most of his consciousness around halfway to the caves, and had been able to somewhat walk on his own. He was still unsteady on his feet, so they walked with him, arms around his waist, but at least they weren't dragging him anymore.

Sayid was already being tended to by Jack when they got there. Jack was holding something in his hand and a white cloth, examining Sayid's head and saying something. Sayid couldn't have been hurt that bad, however, because the moment he saw Boone, he jumped up and took him from Scarlett and Shannon, leading him to sit near Jack's stuff. Shannon sat down heavily nearby, noticeably short of breath.

"Are you okay?" Scarlett asked her with concern.

"Yeah," Shannon said coldly. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Scarlett retorted defensively, holding up her hand. She was going to say something else to the other girl, but at the last moment decided against it and just walked up to sit next to Sayid, who was facing Boone.

"What happened?" Jack asked. Boone panted for a few moments, studiously avoiding anyone's gaze. Then, he looked straight at Scarlett, looking very sad.

"Sawyer," he said simply.

"Sawyer?" Jack asked, eyes narrowed. Sayid just made a face as if to say 'and why would we think it was anyone else?'

"Sawyer?" Scarlett asked sadly. Jack sighed and started to get out the peroxide.

"What'd you do?" he asked, applying the peroxide to one of Boone's bigger wounds. Boone hissed in pain and flinched. Scarlett flinched as well. Sayid randomly walked off. Scarlett watched him go, hoping that he didn't get any ideas.

"Jack, it's fine. It's just a scrape," Boone said, trying to wave off Jack.

"Yeah," Jack said sarcastically. "Lots of scrapes today. I'm running out of peroxide."

Boone looked at him apologetically.

"He just jumped me, man," he said. "I didn't…"

"Why?" Scarlett and Jack asked in unison.

"Shannon has asthma," Boone replied.

"Athsma?" Jack asked, his brow furrowing.

"Yeah," Boone said.

"I've never seen her have an attack before."

Boone looked at Scarlett, his expression one of annoyance.

"Because she had an inhaler," he said. "She sneaks hits when no one's looking. She's been embarrassed about it since she was a little kid. I guess breathing's not cool."

Scarlett smiled slightly at that. Stephen had had asthma, and had hid it as well. Breathing apparently _wasn't _cool as far as Shannon and Stephen were concerned.

"_Had _an inhaler?" Jack asked, pausing in his work to look questioningly at Boone.

"It ran out a couple of days ago," Boone explained. "But I had four refills which should have been enough for a couple of months. But she _always _forgets her medication, so I put it in my suitcase. Today, I see that jackass reading Watership Down."

"You're losing me," Jack said, shaking his head.

"It was in my bags, the stuff I checked. If he has my book, he has my luggage. If he has my luggage, he has the inhalers. Her breathing got really rough today, man. If she has an attack, it's not going to be good."

Jack was silent after that, working studiously. After a long pause, he tossed a clean white rag to Scarlett.

"Clean off his arm," he said. "Let me know when you find the cut."

Scarlett nodded and started to wash off Boone's arm. He looked at her and sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" Scarlett asked, confused.

"About the whole thing with Sawyer."

"I still don't understand how you got beat up," Scarlett said, changing the subject. "You only explained that he _has _your stuff. You didn't say how he jumped you."

"I went into the woods because I knew where Sawyer hid most of the stuff that he looted. Kate told me…anyway, I went there, and I was looking for the inhalers when he just walked up behind me."

Scarlett and Jack exchanged a glance.

"And he jumped you?" Jack asked.

"He was talking to me about how a man has a right to his property. Didn't seem concerned about Shannon at all. Then…he just attacked me."

Boone looked ashamed. Scarlett felt bad, and she comfortingly put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," she murmured soothingly. "At least you're all right. Sawyer's quite the fighter. You should be glad you only got away with this."

Boone looked at her and nodded sadly.

"Yeah," he said, but he didn't sound too grateful.

"I'm going to talk to Sawyer," Jack said, standing up and handing Scarlett the peroxide. "Keep cleaning him up. Don't use too much."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding. Boone sighed and slumped forward. Scarlett applied the peroxide to his arm, where the cut was finally revealed. He cringed and hissed in pain.

"Sorry," she said abashedly. He looked at her and smiled slightly.

"It's all right," he said. "It's not _your _fault…"

"It's Sawyer's," Scarlett finished. She sighed. "But I guess that's partly my fault too…I should have said something to him after I knew about him having the idea in his head about a competition."

"You were going to the caves with me when I told you," Boone pointed out. "Besides, I hardly think this is about the competition." He shook his head as Scarlett shot him a look. "Okay…this isn't _completely _about the competition. I'll admit that some of it probably is about that…but I think the main thing is that I was going through his stuff. He seems to be very…touchy about that. You know? But…" he broke off into a hiss of pain as Scarlett applied the peroxide gently on his arm.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed quickly. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he said with a forced smile. "Where's Shannon?"

Scarlett looked around, but didn't see the other girl.

"I don't know," she replied. Boone sighed.

"Did she seem to be breathing heavily?" he asked. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"A little," she said. "It didn't seem like anything _too _bad, though."

"With her, _anything _is _too _bad," Boone muttered. Scarlett smiled sadly and turned over his arm so she could wipe off the blood there.

"Take off your shirt," she said absently, wetting the rag again and getting the peroxide ready. Boone turned and looked at her with a half-smile.

"_Well_," he said suggestively.

"Don't even start," she said, hitting him on an uninjured part of his arm playfully. He laughed and did as she said, wincing as she applied the peroxide to a rather large cut across his back. "Okay. I think that's good…"

"Yeah, it's great," he said, standing up and putting his shirt back on. "You might have a job here if you wanted."

"Jack's part-time peroxide applier?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," Boone replied with a smirk. He looked like he was about to say something, but then he just shook his head and turned around to look for Shannon. "I'm gonna go find Shannon. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Scarlett replied. "Bye."

Boone smiled and waved and walked away.

* * *

She wandered back to the beach, not liking the whole 'being alone' thing. She almost got lost a few times thanks to her lack of focus, but then managed to find her way back to where she was going. She came out of the woods and saw Charlie and Claire talking by the water. She smiled and, not wanting to interrupt, moved off to find Sawyer.

She saw him stalking into the trees angrily, going in through the same way that Boone had exited earlier. She ran after him, and finally caught up to him in the trees a little bit.

"Sawyer!" she called. He turned around and made a face.

"What do _you _want?" he asked.

"I want to talk to you about Shannon," Scarlett replied calmly.

"Sorry, sugar. I only need one person on my back about Sticks' meds," he growled.

"Why don't you just give it to me?" Scarlett asked wearily.

"Why? So you can save the day and Metro'll give you a big ol' kiss for your troubles? No thanks, Sox. I think I'll deal with Freckles jumping down my throat. At least she's not doin' it to show off."

"What?" Scarlett asked, the rage rushing into her all at once and filling her with a bitter feeling. "Show off? You really think that's what this is about? You're fucking insane, Sawyer!"

Sawyer at least had the decency to look slightly surprised at the outburst.

"Easy, darlin'," he said darkly. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself. Only reason for you to get so offended is if it was the truth."

"Fuck you," she growled. "All this time, I've been telling everyone you're not really an asshole. I've been thinking that no one gave you a chance, and that they were all missing out. I've been fucking sticking up for you. You…"

Sawyer took a sudden step towards her, and she took a step back defensively.

"I don't need you or anybody else to stick up for me," he growled.

"Yeah?" Scarlett asked viciously. "Well someone needs to do it, because you certainly aren't doing it for yourself. Why won't you just give me the inhalers?"

"I didn't give them to Jackass; I'm not giving them to you," Sawyer growled. "What makes you think you're so different?"

The last words hit Scarlett like a slap in the face. She took a step back and glared at him ferociously.

"I thought _you _were different," she said through clenched teeth. "Different from all the men that have been in my life before. But I was wrong. You're just like Anthony. You can't ever just do anything because it's the right thing to do. You only do something when it gets you something in return."

"Yeah, looks like you got me all figured out, Sox," Sawyer said sarcastically.

"No," Scarlett said, not noticing the surprise on Sawyer's face when she said it. "I don't. I don't think even _you_ have yourself figured out, Sawyer. My advice would be to work on that for a little bit before you end up hurting anyone else."

Sawyer's natural instinct to have the last word in an argument failed him, and he didn't bother to even open his mouth as she turned on her heel and strode out of the trees, back along the path to the caves.

* * *

_Twelve-year-old Scarlett huddled in her room, shaking and scared, listening to the fight that was going on in the next room. The last time her mommy and her other daddy had gotten into a fight like that, her daddy ended up leaving forever. She didn't want that to happen again. Even though Mark wasn't the best daddy…he was better than no daddy._

_"Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett looked up with surprise as the voice came from outside her window. Stephen was leaning in, smiling at her. _

_"Stephen!" she said happily, trying to be quiet though it was clear that no one in the other room was going to hear her unless she screamed. "What are you doing here?"_

_"It's a Friday night and I had nothing to do," Stephen replied with a smile. "I figured I'd walk over here."_

_"That's a really long way," Scarlett said with a small giggle, getting up and hurrying over to the window. _

_"Yeah," Stephen said with a laugh. _

_"My mom was saying that you're weird for wanting to hang out with me," Scarlett remarked conversationally._

_"Me? Weird?" Stephen asked with a quirky smile. "Never."_

_Scarlett smiled and tried to keep the laughter quiet. The fighting continued in the other room; and though it hadn't diminished in the slightest, it seemed a lot quieter to Scarlett, who was quite focused on something else. _

_"Why _do _you like hanging out with me?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "You're sixteen. I'm only twelve!"_

_"Yeah, but you're cooler than most girls _my _age," Stephen said. "You're older, somehow."_

_"Really?" Scarlett asked. Stephen nodded and was about to say something when suddenly there was a great crash from the other room, and heavy footsteps started down the hall. Scarlett had experienced the fighting enough to know that the footsteps were headed right for her room. _

_"Get down!" she hissed. Stephen looked at her, worried._

_"You have to get out of there!" he exclaimed. "Come on!"_

_"I can't! It'll be worse if I do. Please, just get down!"_

_Stephen reluctantly did as she said, and she had just enough time to hide in the corner, where he knew she would be, before the door flung open, slamming against her knees, which were drawn up to her chest; causing her to cry out in pain. _

_"Don't hurt her, huh?" Mark shouted. "Don't hurt her?"_

_He grabbed Scarlett by the arm and hauled her to her feet, backhanding her across the face. _

_"I fucking hurt her, bitch!" he yelled to Lucie, who stood looking stunned in the hallway. _

_"Don't touch her!" she screamed, running forward and flinging herself at Mark, her fist connecting powerfully with his jaw. "Stop it! Stop it!"_

_Mark's foot shot out as he tried to fend off Lucie, and he kicked Scarlett in the stomach. She screamed in pain and flung herself away, back into the corner. Mark pushed Lucie away and stormed out of the room. _

_"I'm fucking leaving!" he shouted. _

_"Mark, please," Lucie sobbed, forgetting that Mark had just beaten her daughter; forgetting what he had done to her, and only knowing that she, at one point, saw something in him that she loved. She jumped up, leaving Scarlett curled up in the corner, and she ran out of the room. _

_The first thing that Scarlett saw when her swimming vision finally cleared was Stephen, standing over her with a horrified look on his face. _

_"Scarlett?" he asked, his voice small and afraid. "Are you okay?"_

_Scarlett nodded and mumbled something that she wasn't entirely sure made all that much sense. Stephen kneeled down beside her and pulled her into a huge hug. She just let herself melt into his embrace. _

_"I'll never hurt you," he whispered. "I'll never do anything like that to you. I promise."_

_Scarlett smiled to herself, forgetting the pain, and believed every word he said.

* * *

_

**Next Chapter: **

_(Scarlett walks up to Jack somberly.)_

**Scarlett: **What happens if we can't find her medicine?

_(Jack pauses.)_

**Jack: **I don't know what's going to happen.

_(Shot of Shannon sucking in a breath)_

**Boone: **Help! She's not breathing!

_(Boone and Scarlett sit side by side, watching the fire thoughtfully.)_

**Boone: **There's this guy. Named Jeff Thomas…he's over there. Near that fire.

_(Scarlett looks. A red headed young man sits at the fire. Scarlett shrugs.)_

**Scarlett: **I see him

_(Boone looks at her, waiting. Scarlett gives him a questioning look.)_

**Boone: **Jeff Thomas. J.T. That letter you got?

_(Scarlett looks at him, her mouth dropping open in shock.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	22. Confidence Man Part 2

Here's the update!

HAPPY SUMMER VACATION EVERYONE! I am _so _happy to be out of school right now. You don't even know!

Sorry I didn't update sooner. I've had some recent problems with the real Mr. Stephen Martin himself. (My friend). Fortunately, everything's okay now, but it just hindered my updating for the moment!

Reviewers! Thanks for reviewing! You make my day! And please remember to review again!

I have over 100 reviews! You guys ROCK!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Haha, I hate school too! My French final wasn't hard…it was DEATH! I didn't do too bad on it (83? 84? Somewhere around there), but it was the longest and most tedious hour and a half of my LIFE! How was yours? I hope you did good!

Haha, don't send Locke after me! Eek! Thanks about the preview. I have fun doing it. It kinda cracks me up, actually! Haha! Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Yeah…Scarlett hasn't had the best experience in the world with guys, has she? Well, her experience with Mr. Right may be all she's looking for….but yet…it might not. (oooh, scary). I agree. I love guys and all that, but sometimes they make me so mad!

My drama teacher tried to tell me that girls were less visual than guys. He obviously hasn't spent much time talking to me! I'm a highly…visual person! Haha! Thanks for the review!

**ShalBrenFan: **Haha, you just wait until we get to some of the big episodes, like Raised By Another and (My least favorite episode of all time…) Do No Harm (sniff) Those will be exciting! (And quite possibly depressing) We do have a lot in common. It makes me happy! Haha. Don't go crazy! Here's the update! Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Awww! Don't worry about your finals! It's not worth all that much overall. It won't effect your final grades too badly! I'm sorry you were going crazy on Wednesday, haha! But here's an update for you to make you happy! I love Sawyer too, even though he really is being a total jerk. Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Oh, the juiciness is there! Haha! And it will only get juicier! Scroone is very cute, and Sawyer _is _being a jerk right now. Yay! Do update it soon, because I love it! Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Aww! Thanks! Well, you're awesome too! Just awesome! Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Thanks so much! You make me feel so happy! Haha! My self confidence just went up a TON! Thanks sooo much for the review! (And yeah, Boone and Sawyer are both totally hot!) Thanks again!

* * *

**Confidence Man (2): **Jeff, Eddie, and an Attack

When Scarlett returned to the caves, she saw Shannon resting and breathing heavily, while Boone knelt in front of her, murmuring comforting words to her.

"Just keep doing it," he said gently, clasping her hand. "Just keep breathing. That's right. Just keep breathing."

Shannon gasped and sucked in another breath. Boone smiled.

"That's the way," he murmured. "Just like that." He saw Scarlett and waved slightly, then turned his attention back to Shannon. Scarlett walked up to Jack, who was filling up water at the waterfall.

"What happens if we can't find her medicine?" she asked. "We may be here for a while…"

"I don't know what's going to happen," he said sadly. "I really don't. If she keeps getting worse…"

He looked over at her and sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his hand through his hair. For a long moment, he looked at the ground, as if thinking about something. Then, he looked back up at her.

"She could die," Scarlett finished. There was a long pause, then Jack slowly nodded.

"Yeah," he said softly.

Scarlett growled under her breath and put her hand to her forehead to think.

"I talked to Sawyer," she said. "He wouldn't give them to me."

"Seems to think this is some kind of pride issue," Jack muttered, obviously not to happy about it. Scarlett nodded.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked sincerely. Jack shook his head.

"Just hang around here for a little while," he said. "I might need you later."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding vehemently. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Thanks," Jack said, smiling at her before walking off to find something, muttering under his breath. Scarlett sighed and made herself comfortable leaning against one of the walls of the cave. She could hear Shannon breathing heavily in the background, but didn't want to go to her or Boone. She figured she'd just make things worse.

Thankfully, someone noticed her loneliness, and joined her.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her as he sat down to her left. He stuck out his hand proudly. "I'm Eddie."

"Hey, Eddie," Scarlett replied with a smile, clasping his hand. He looked like he was in his late twenties, and was tall with short black hair and brown eyes. "I'm Scarlett."

"Scarlett," Eddie said thoughtfully, with a smile. "I've seen you around a few times, but I don't think we've ever actually spoken."

"No, we haven't," Scarlett said. "I've seen you too, though."

Eddie beamed at her.

"So you moved up here to the caves?" he asked. Scarlett laughed and shook her head.

"No," she said. "I just came up here to get some water and…ended up getting stuck here, I guess."

"Yeah, you came in with that Boone guy, right?" Eddie asked. "He your boyfriend?"

Scarlett laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No," she said. "No, he's not. I barely even know him. He's just a friend."

"Oh," Eddie said, sounding surprised. "Really? The island grapevine has been saying otherwise."

"Well, don't always trust it," Scarlett retorted with a laugh. "No, me and Boone are just friends."

"Maybe I should spread the word," Eddie joked. Scarlett laughed again.

"That would be good," she said, turning and looking to her right at Boone and Shannon. Boone had his hand on Shannon's back, and was rubbing it slowly, murmuring comforting words to her.

"I'm hearing all sorts of things about the girl," Eddie remarked to break the long silence that followed. "His sister. She has asthma?"

"Yeah," Scarlett answered with a nod.

"And her medicine ran out?"

"Yeah."

"And…I know Boone has refills…but no one seems to know why he can't get them."

"Sawyer," Scarlett said simply, rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Sawyer," Eddie said sarcastically. "Great. Shoulda known."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a small laugh. Eddie looked at her and smiled as well.

"I was under the impression that the two of you were pretty close," he said, giving her a suggestive look. She grinned and shook her head.

"I don't know where people are getting _that _idea," she remarked. "No, me and Sawyer are just friends too. What am I, the island slut?"

"Apparently," Eddie replied. "Some people around here were trying to tell us that you were a real snob and a bitch too."

"What?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "Really?"

"Yeah," Eddie said. "I decided to find out for myself. I'm glad I did too, because now I can prove them wrong, right?"

Scarlett nodded and smiled, though inwardly, she was feeling slightly upset over the news that people were talking about her in a negative light. She didn't think she had done anything particularly bad at all during the time they had been stuck on the island. The fact that she didn't know _what _they were saying really frightened her. It was like high school all over again.

"Please do," she said. "That really creeps me out that people have been saying things about me. I've been trying to help and stuff..."

"I wouldn't take it too seriously," Eddie said quickly. "I mean…you know. It's just people being people. If they don't have anything to talk about, they'd go insane."

Scarlett smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Most likely."

Eddie laughed and stood up with a groan.

"I'm gonna go deliver some more water to the beach people," he said. "It was nice talking to you. I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling and nodding. "See you later."

Eddie gave a pleasant little wave and moved off. Scarlett sighed sadly. _Great_, she thought to herself, _island slut. Terrific. _

With a sad little laugh, she closed her eyes and decided to rest. But, of course, she never could just 'rest' and so she, as always, ended up drifting off to sleep.

* * *

_"Will you just give me the inhalers?"_

_Scarlett and Sawyer stood in the middle of the woods, facing each other with determination. Sawyer held the inhalers in one hand, and Watership Down in the other. _

_"What you gonna do, Sox? Make me?"_

_Scarlett didn't know what to do. She was about to say something to Sawyer when suddenly she heard that scream again. She whirled around and saw a flash of something disappearing into the trees. _

_"Help me!"_

_She turned around to face Sawyer, and saw that he was staring at something behind him. Boone. _

_"What are you doing?" Boone asked him. "Give those to me!"_

_"A man's got a right to his property," Sawyer said mockingly. "And I'm keeping them."_

_"They're mine," Boone said through clenched teeth. _

_"Don't you mean Sticks'?" Sawyer asked. _

_"You know that that's not all I want, Sawyer," Boone growled. _

_"I know you don't," Sawyer said. "But you can't have her either, Metro."_

_"Guys…" Scarlett began, stepping forward. "Come on. This is stupid."_

_"We wouldn't have to fight if you'd just _choose_," Sawyer spat. _

_"I'm not choosing either one of you!" Scarlett exclaimed. "I don't want anything!"_

_Boone looked hurt. Sawyer looked angry._

_"What?" he asked. "We ain't good enough for ya?"_

_"Sawyer, leave her alone," Boone spoke up, but Sawyer shushed him._

_"Hey, come on guys," said someone from behind her. She whirled around with surprise and saw Eddie standing there with Claire. Claire was holding a baby, but she was still pregnant. _

_"What's this all about?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. Sawyer laughed. _

_"As if you care," he growled. "Just go away."_

_Slowly, so slowly, the scene changed. She was standing in her apartment. Sawyer was replaced by Kevin. Boone was replaced by Stephen. Claire and the baby were replaced by Carol and Nattie. Eddie was replaced by Dan. _

_"Will you all just leave me alone?" she sobbed. "Please just…stop!"_

_"What's wrong, babe," Stephen said, stepping forward sadly. _

_"Excuse me?" Kevin asked Stephen, pushing him backwards violently. Stephen crashed into the table behind him painfully._

_"Who's this asshole?" he asked Scarlett, brushing himself off angrily. _

_"Who's _this _asshole?" Kevin repeated. They both turned to Scarlett and waited. For a split second, they were all back on the island. Then, they were in the apartment again. _

_"Stop it!" Scarlett yelled. "I don't love either of you!"_

_Kevin and Stephen looked at her, hurt, then looked at each other. _

_"You thought she loved you?" Stephen asked violently. _

_"_You _thought she loved _you_?" Kevin retorted mockingly. Stephen looked to her, eyes big and sad. _

_"You don't…love me?" he asked. She felt sympathy filling her. She shook her head. _

_"No," she whispered. "I'm sorry but…no."_

_Stephen's face clouded over with anger, and he took a threatening step towards her._

_"What?" he asked. She started to back away, and suddenly she tripped and fell backwards. When she landed, she was back in the house she grew up in, and Mark was standing over her, glaring, as Stephen stood watching out the window with wide eyes. As she closed her eyes and waited for the pain, she heard his fervent whisper from so long ago. _

_"I'll never hurt you. I'll never do anything like that to you. I promise."

* * *

_

Scarlett started awake as someone kicked her outstretched leg. She opened her eyes to see Sawyer smiling at her as he walked by with a water bottle in one hand. She stood up unsteadily, starting to walk after him. However, Jack beat her to it.

As Sawyer was bending down and getting some water out of the little pool at his feet, Jack stalked up behind him.

"Give me the inhalers," he said darkly. "Now."

"Hell," Sawyer said with a smile. "I wondered when you were going to stop asking nice."

He went to take a sip of his water, but Jack, without warning, suddenly punched him. Sawyer fell to the ground. Scarlett winced and restrained herself from yelling at Jack to stop. Sawyer smiled and wiped the blood off his lip.

"Jack…" Scarlett whispered, but she didn't have the heart to speak any louder.

"Well, it's about time cowboy," Sawyer said. "Been telling you since day one, we're in the wild. Didn't think you had it in you."

Jack just punched him again. When he pulled back, he looked like he was in pain, and he shook his hand, wincing. Sawyer laughed and got back up on his knees.

"That all you got?" he asked.

Jack just glared at him. Suddenly he looked around him. Sun was cowering against Jin, and Boone and Shannon were staring at him fearfully. Scarlett just watched him emotionlessly. Without another word, he stalked away. A few moments later, after a long pause in which no one moved or said anything, Sawyer left as well.

* * *

It was around ten o'clock at night when Shannon finally fell asleep. Scarlett had long since asked Eddie if he, on his trip to the beach, could find Claire and tell her that she was at the caves for the night. She had sat on the outskirts of the caves, near the trees, and had listened to Shannon gasping and choking. When it finally fell silent, she knew the girl was sleeping.

Boone appeared a few minutes later, smiling at her.

"Hey," he said. "You're still here."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I knew that if I went back…all I'd be thinking about was how Shannon was doing, so there was no point, really. Plus Jack said he might need me later; though I don't really know what he'd need me for…How's Shannon?"

"I think she's getting better," Boone responded with a relieved smile, taking a seat beside her. "So how've you been?"

"Good," Scarlett said, smiling. "Better."

Boone smiled sadly and picked a blade of grass, throwing it into the fire nearby.

"There's this guy," he said slowly. "Named Jeff Thomas. He's over there, near that fire."

Boone pointed, and Scarlett saw the youngish man with red hair that he was talking about.

"I see him," she said, urging him to continue with his story. He looked at her as if he was waiting for her to say something else. When she gave him a look that clearly said she didn't know why that was important, he sighed.

"Jeff Thomas," he said slowly. "J.T.? That letter you got?"

Scarlett's eyes snapped up to Boone's with surprise.

"I thought you had forgotten about that," she said. Boone snorted with derision.

"No," he scoffed. "I didn't. I figured that maybe he was the one who wrote that letter."

Scarlett glanced back over at Jeff, finding herself watching him and all his movements.

"I hope so," she said slowly. "I'd really like to find out who that guy was."

"Yeah," Boone said thoughtfully. "I didn't understand much of the letter myself…"

"Neither did I," Scarlett said quickly, hiding her discomfort with a smile. She knew that Boone was going to start asking her about her past, and she just didn't want to talk about that. Not with Boone. Not with anyone. Except maybe Carol…

The thought of Carol led her eyes slowly back to the fire. She wondered if her friend even knew she had been on the plane. Knowing Carol, she probably figured it out.

"Are you all right?" Boone asked, looking at her with concern. Scarlett smiled and nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I was just…thinking."

Boone nodded.

"You do that a lot," he retorted with a smile. Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "I do."

Boone sighed, and a companionable silence fell over the two of them. Scarlett glanced at him and saw him staring into the fire, looking scared. As if he noticed that she was watching him, he spoke up.

"Do you…do you think Jack's going to be able to get the inhalers?" he asked. Scarlett nodded hurriedly.

"Yeah," she said. "I know Sawyer's being an ass right now…but I really don't think he's a mean-spirited person. There's a reason he's doing this…I just don't know what that might be. I'm sure he'll hand them over eventually."

"Yeah," Boone said sarcastically. "Because he seems like such a great guy."

Scarlett glared at him. Boone shrugged and stared moodily into the fire.

"Hey," Scarlett said comfortingly, placing her hand on his arm. "She's gonna be all right."

Boone didn't answer for a long time. After a while, however, he nodded slowly.

"I hope so," he replied, and then they both fell silent again.

Boone watched the fire, but Scarlett watched the man across clearing. Jeff Thomas. Could he be the person who had written the letter? It certainly was very possible…

* * *

_"What the fuck is your problem?"_

_"What's _my _problem? What's your problem?"_

_"I'm not the one who comes home every night dead drunk!" _

_It was another typical night. Scarlett and Stephen were screaming and raging at each other. Nights like that never ended well, but Scarlett couldn't avoid them. If they didn't fight, then he'd just pretend they were fighting, and that usually was worse. _

_"Yeah, well you should try it some time," Stephen leered. Scarlett growled and turned to walk into the other room. "Hey! Don't you fucking move while I'm talking to you!"_

_Scarlett whirled back around. _

_"What the fuck do you want?" she asked through clenched teeth. "I have things to do."_

_Without warning, he strode across the room and backhanded her across the face. She gasped and staggered back, her eyes stinging with the effort of keeping her tears at bay. In the long silence that followed, she watched the drunken stupor melt from Stephen's eyes, as he stared at her in shock. It was the same way every night. _

_"Baby, I'm sorry," he whispered. He took a step towards her, but for the first time, she backed away. She didn't want him to comfort her. There was something she had to say._

_"Remember what you said to me," she growled. "When I was twelve years old. Before we even got together?" Stephen gave her a blank look. "It was the reason I fell in love with you in the first place. It was why I let you do this to me." Scarlett's voice had decidedly risen in volume. She was practically screaming. Meanwhile, Stephen just stood there, staring at her with sad, hurt eyes. She didn't let them faze her. She had had it with him. "You told me you would never, ever hurt me. Do you remember that, Stephen? Do you remember when you said that to me?"_

_"Yes," Stephen whispered sadly. _

_"Oh," Scarlett said smugly. "You do. So what happened to that, Stephen? What happened to your little promise?" She shoved Stephen backwards with one hand, surprised when he didn't fight back. _

_"I'm sorry," he whispered._

_"Yeah? Well I'm not," Scarlett replied, and she turned and walked out of the room._

_The next day, she left for Australia.

* * *

_

When Scarlett awoke the next morning, she was lying with a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body. She smiled and sat up, yawning. The caves were actually a lot more comfortable than the beach. She considered talking to Claire about it, even though she had a feeling that the other girl wouldn't want to move just yet. She still had hope. It was a good thing that she did, but Scarlett had a feeling that it was blind hope.

She stood up and fixed her hair, which had brown strands flying in every direction. She was about to trudge over to the waterfall for some water, when suddenly she heard Shannon's ragged gasp for breath. She started with surprise and turned to face where Shannon was sitting on the ground, with Boone kneeling in front of her.

"Help!" he yelled to Jack, who was already making his way over there. "She's not breathing!" Jack ran over. "The attacks are getting worse."

Jack lightly pushed Boone out of the way, and Scarlett slowly moved over to stand to the left a little; just out of the way of everyone.

"Shannon, listen to me," Jack said calmly. "Look at me. Look at me. You need to listen now. This isn't just the asthma. It's anxiety. It's in your head."

"No," Shannon managed to gasp out, shaking her head vehemently.

"Yes," Jack said with just the right amount of forcefulness. "You know that your medicine's run out, and you're panicking. Shannon, Shannon, look at me. We can fight this, together, okay? Nod your head, Shannon. Good. Breathe in through…"

"She needs her inhaler," Boone said nervously. Jack turned to him angrily.

"Boone," he said with annoyance. He turned back to Shannon. "Breathe in through your nose. Slowly." Shannon just gasped through her mouth again. "No, no, no," Jack said. "In through the nose, like this." Jack demonstrated. "You can do this, Shannon. You can do this. In through the nose. You got your breath. Yeah, your color's coming back. See, I knew you could do this. Do you feel it?"

"Yes," Shannon gasped.

"It's passing," Jack continued. "Okay. Again, in through the nose. All right, just keep doing that. Keep breathing like that. That's perfect. Good job."

With that, he pulled Boone aside, over to where Scarlett was standing, watching with wide eyes.

"Keep her relaxed," he said sternly. "Do _not _let her panic."

"Yeah," Boone said, nodding hastily. "Yeah."

Jack walked off. Boone looked at Scarlett and shrugged nervously before turning back to Shannon and kneeling beside her, taking her hand and gently soothing her. Scarlett smiled sadly and started to move back to her spot near the fire. Before she got there, however, Charlie stopped her.

"Do you happen to know where I might be able to get my hands on some peanut butter?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said sarcastically. "Across the ocean. Peanut butter? Are you kidding? I would kill for some peanut butter right now."

"Yeah, so would Claire," Charlie muttered. Scarlett looked at him questioningly, and he hurried to explain. "I made her a deal that if I found some peanut butter, then she would move to the caves," he said with a grin.

"Really?" Scarlett asked, smiling. "So you came all the way up here just to ask for some peanut butter?"

"Yeah," Charlie said. "But so far no one seems to have any."

"The only person who might possibly have peanut butter would be Sawyer, but I highly doubt he'd be too keen on giving it to you," Scarlett remarked, giving Charlie a knowing look."

"Yeah," he replied with a sigh. "I don't feel like getting a beating today. Besides, I couldn't find the little bugger anywhere. He just vanished."

"Probably off hiding," Scarlett growled, rolling her eyes. Charlie smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe," he said. "You're pretty scary when you're angry."

"And how would you know that?" Scarlett asked with surprise. "I've never been angry at you!"

"Yeah, but I saw you that time you were yelling at Boone," Charlie pointed out. Scarlett laughed.

"Okay, yeah, I was _really _angry then, but this is worse," she said. "Shannon could die all because he can't get over being an asshole. I swear to God if she does die, I'm going to help Boone hunt him down."

"And what's pretty boy gonna do?" Charlie asked laughingly. "Kill him?"

Scarlett shrugged.

"An eye for an eye," she said through clenched teeth, finding herself becoming angry just at the mention of Shannon dying because of Sawyer. Charlie looked surprised. Scarlett sighed. "Okay," she said. "Maybe not _that _harsh. But still. The man really needs some sense knocked into him. What's more important here, his pride, or her life?"

Charlie nodded and looked down at the ground thoughtfully.

"Yeah," he said. "Well, her life, obviously. Apparently his pride is more important to _him_."

Scarlett nodded and made a face. Sawyer was just like Anthony. She couldn't stand it.

"Yeah," she muttered. Charlie patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm off," he said, waving to her slightly.

"Okay," Scarlett said absently. "Oh, and good luck with the peanut butter."

Charlie smiled.

"Thanks," he replied. "See you later."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Bye."

Charlie waved again and walked off.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

_(Scarlett walks up to a man with red hair)_

**Scarlett: **Um…excuse me. Hi, I'm Scarlett Meyers. I don't think we've met yet."

**Jeff: **No, we haven't. _(Smiles) _I'm Jeff Thomas.

_(Sayid runs up to Jack's supplies. There's blood on his shirt.)_

**Boone: **Whose blood is that?

_(Sayid doesn't answer.)_

**Boone: **Whose blood is that?

(Scarlett and Boone hug. Scarlett moves to sit next to Claire, who is staring at her with a small, knowing smile.)

**Scarlett: **Don't look at me like that!

**Claire: **What? I just thought it was really cute.

**Scarlett: **It was just a hug. Don't go getting any ideas, now.

**Claire: **_(Suggestively) _Well, a hug can lead to other things.

**Next Time on: Just Another Castaway**


	23. Confidence Man Part 3

Update time! Sorry it took so long. I've been busy making a myspace, lol. I'm not the fastest person in the world with that kind of thing, but it turned out pretty nice! I've even got a beautiful background. (Hehe…it's a purty Lost-man.) I'm very excited for it, lol.

So anyway, thanks so much for reviewing, and please remember to review again!

**Izzy: **Haha, I love Izzy! This review made my day with its longness, lol. I was really so excited. Yeah…my least favorite episode was Do No Harm too. I also said that I'd never watch it again. (hehe, didn't work either). Now I have to decide what to do when it comes to that episode, lol. Yeah…I was actually writing a story in which Boone comes back, but then my disc broke and I gave up, lol. I might continue writing it at one point in time! Have a great summer as well! It makes me happy that we're so alike too, lol! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **I'm so glad you like my story, lol. Your story rocks as well, and I'm so excited for the next chapter! Lol, you keep your Scrooner hopes up! Thanks for the review!

**Chrizz: **Hehe, that's actually the first we've seen of Kevin. He becomes a major key to something later on in the story in her flashbacks and, I guess, in the present. That was just a little spot of him there. This is the first time we've seen Dan and Nattie too, but they come back. Hehe, tricky, eh? Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Awww, I'm glad you love it! You make me feel special, lol. Thanks for the review!

**KnightoftheRoundTable: **Haha, I love the word Woot! I had many, many debates with myself over what to do with the Scarlett/Sawyer/Kate situation there. But in the end, I made my decision because of something that will happen later on. It's not a big thing, but it's there, lol. Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Hehe, I'll let you find out whether or not Scarlett kisses Sawyer instead. And Scarlett's episode, I'm thinking either between All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues and Whatever The Case May Be, or between Hearts and Minds and Special. I'm leaning more towards the second one, though. Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **That's happened to me before. It gets very frustrating, lol. Thanks for pointing out the mistake. I do stuff like that a lot because I type way too fast for my own good, and I always mess up in little places. I never really understood why Sawyer didn't just tell them that he didn't have the medication. In my story, he has his 'reasons', but even I'm not completely sure if I want him to be telling the truth on that or not. Haha, I'm incredibly tired today too, but I just woke up! Hehe! Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Hehe, actually…I really haven't even decided if Jeff will be J.T. or not. I have my ideas though! You're right, only time will tell, even for me! Sawyer is most definitely being an ass! He needs to stop! And yeah, I do download lost episodes. (I would be LOST without them! Hehe!) I get them from a livejournal community called Losteps. It's a really cool place! Thanks for the review!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Haha, oh, I _so _know that feeling! My French teacher gets so mad at me for answering questions because I _never _pay attention, so when I get things right, she acts like it's a personal offence. Nice job! I got an 83 on my French final too! That's awesome! Lol. Haha, yeah, the weird dreams are freaky. I sometimes get weird dreams, but most of the ones I get are like…funny and weird, lol. Like…they're scary when I'm sleeping, but when I wake up, I'm like "Wow…HAHA!". I try to follow the storyline as close as possible. It's hard, but I manage! Lol. And don't be sorry about eh long review! I _love_ long reviews! They make me happy! Lol! Thanks for the review!

Wow…you guys rock! Nine reviews! Weee!

Okay, so on to the chapter! Haha!

* * *

**Confidence Man(3): **J.T. and Peanut Butter

After building up the courage for close to an hour, Scarlett slowly wandered over to where Jeff was sitting and tending to the fire.

"Um…excuse me," she said as she walked up to him. "Hi. I'm Scarlett Meyers. I don't think we've met yet."

"No, we haven't," replied Jeff with a smile. "I'm Jeff Thomas."

"It's nice to meet you," Scarlett said, sticking out her hand with a pleasant smile. He took it and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too," he said. "Here, have a seat."

"Oh, thanks," Scarlett replied, sitting down beside him on the log.

"I'm just cooking up some of the boar meat," Jeff said, gesturing. Scarlett smiled.

"Well, someone has to do it," she said with an uncomfortable laugh. Jeff wasn't giving any sign of recognizing her or her name. It was making her slightly disappointed.

"You think they're coming?" Jeff asked suddenly, turning to face her. "You think we're gonna be rescued? I know it's kind of…random…but you seem to be friends with all the big guys out here. Jack, Sayid…people who know things. Do they think anyone's coming?"

Scarlett sighed and looked into the fire.

"I don't know," she said, her eyes vacant. "I mean…I _hope _so. It's just…it's been a while. It's starting to kind of seem like they're not on their way. Like they would have been here by now."

"Yeah," Jeff agreed. "It's just this feeling I've been having. Sort of the like the opposite of being watched. I feel like there's no one watching me. No one caring about me…you know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "I do know. That's what I feel like too."

"It's not a good feeling," Jeff said with a sigh. After a short pause, he laughed bitterly. "Listen to me," he scoffed. "I'm such a pessimist. Don't even pay attention to me."

"No, it's okay," Scarlett said quickly. "I have my moments of pessimism myself."

Jeff smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Hey, Jeff, hey Scarlett," said Eddie suddenly, sitting beside her and surprising her a great deal. She jumped and laughed.

"Hey, Eddie," she said. He laughed as well.

"Sorry I scared you," he said. "I see you've met Jeff."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling in Jeff's direction. "I have."

"How's Shannon doing?" Eddie asked. "I hear she had a huge attack this morning."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, making a face. "She did. She's okay now, though…I think."

"That's good," Jeff said, and he sounded like he really meant it. "I felt terrible when I found out. That Sawyer jackass is really making a name for himself around here."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, wrinkling her nose with disgust. "I'm so upset about this. I really don't see why…"

She broke off and sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," she said. "I need to go find Sawyer. Try to talk him out of it."

"Okay, yeah," Eddie said, nodding. "Good idea. Maybe you can help some."

"Maybe," Scarlett said with a sad laugh. "Not likely, but maybe. I suppose there might be the slightest of chances."

Eddie and Jeff laughed and said goodbye to her as she started off to the path to the beach. However, as she was walking, she noticed Michael and Sun standing nearby, and they appeared to be talking.

"I need you to go into the woods," Sun was saying. Scarlett's eyes widened. Sun spoke English?

As if Sun had been able to hear what Scarlett was thinking, she looked up and saw Scarlett staring at her. The other woman's eyes went wide, and she backed away slightly as if she thought Scarlett was going to hurt her.

"I…I'm sorry," Scarlett stammered hurriedly. "I didn't know…I just…I was…"

"It's okay," Michael said comfortingly to Sun, stepping forward towards Scarlett. "Um…look. Just…don't tell anyone, okay?"

Scarlett looked from Sun to Michael questioningly.

"Why?" she asked. "Is there…"

"My husband," Sun said quickly. "He…he does not know that I speak English. He would be very…angry."

"Oh," Scarlett said with understanding. "Oh…"

"Yeah, just keep it to yourself, okay?" Michael said, holding out a hand. "Just…don't tell anyone, all right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said quickly. "Yeah, I won't."

"No one," Sun said, shaking her head. "Please."

"I promise," Scarlett said comfortingly. "I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," Sun said with a bright smile. She had a pretty smile. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Scarlett said in reply. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

Sun and Michael both smiled and nodded, and Scarlett walked away. She saw Shannon breathing better, though still having a hard time. Boone looked up at her as she walked by and gave a sad little smile that never reached his eyes. Scarlett smiled back comfortingly, put her hand on his back for a brief moment, and kept walking.

* * *

She never made it to the beach. On the way there she ran into John, who had twisted an ankle and was limping up to Jack to have it checked out. Since Scarlett had suffered, and was still suffering, from the same misfortune, she decided to help him to the caves, even though Jack wouldn't be there to help.

The little trip took them about a half-hour, since John was being a whiner and complaining about the pain every step, and wanted to take a break every five minutes. Scarlett was seriously considering just telling him to make his own way to the caves, when she finally saw the caves up ahead.

"Thank God," John groaned. Scarlett rolled her eyes and thought the exact same thing. "Where's Jack?"

"He's off looking for Sawyer," Scarlett said calmly. "But he'll be back soon. We'll just get you a seat near the water, so you can take a drink and relax until he gets back, okay?"

Either John really didn't have a problem with the idea, or he noticed the lack of patience in Scarlett's voice, because he nodded and allowed her to lead him over to the waterfall with relatively little complaining. She got him settled and made sure he was okay before she, once again, started walking towards the beach in search of Sawyer.

However, she didn't need to. As she was walking past Shannon and Boone, Sayid suddenly burst out of the trees, looking out of breath and rushed. Scarlett noticed with horror that there was blood on his shirt. A lot of blood. She froze in her tracks and stared at him. Boone stood up and ran to Sayid, who was starting to go through Jack's stuff.

"Whose blood is that?" he asked; forcefully but quietly. Sayid didn't answer, so Boone reiterated his question. "Whose blood is that?"

Sayid paused for a long moment, and his eyes slowly found Scarlett's. As soon as he did that, she knew what the answer was going to be.

"Sawyer."

Boone looked at Scarlett as well, but quickly looked away. Scarlett tried not to wonder what had happened, and she tried not to care about whether or not Sawyer was still alive, but it was impossible.

Sayid started walking away. Boone went after him.

"You went after Sawyer and didn't even tell me?" he asked. "She's my sister…"

Scarlett saw Shannon watching Boone, her eyes open wide and scared.

"Boone," she whimpered. At the sound of her voice, Boone spun around, as if it was a call he didn't have the power to refuse. "Don't leave me alone, okay?"

Boone, without looking back to Sayid, walked over to Shannon and sat beside her, placing his hand over hers and rubbing it gently.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay?" he said comfortingly. Shannon nodded and looked at him lovingly.

"Okay," she said. Scarlett watched them both sadly.

* * *

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Mark got mad again," Scarlett sniffled, standing in the doorway of Anthony's room. "Can you help me wash the blood away? I don't like doing it myself."_

_Scarlett was ten. Anthony was thirteen. This was before the death of their mother; before Anthony became cold and hard and unforgiving. This was when he still cared. _

_"Yeah, sweetie," he said softly. "Come here."_

_Enveloping his little sister in a big hug, he examined the bleeding cut right above her eye. He winced. _

_"What did he do?" he asked. No stranger to Mark's abuses himself, he knew a belt wound when he saw one. That was no belt wound._

_"He hit me with one of mommy's shoes," Scarlett whispered, as if it was a big secret that the world shouldn't know. "The big black ones with the spikes at the end."_

_Anthony sighed and got out of bed._

_"Why don't you sleep in here tonight," he said. "Mark won't bother you in here."_

_Scarlett nodded solemnly. She knew that Anthony's room was a safe place for her. She knew that Anthony would do anything to protect her. _

_"Thanks, Anthony," she whispered with a bright smile, taking his hand as he led her out of the room. "You're my angel."

* * *

_

Scarlett was sitting by the trees moodily; watching the fire and thinking to herself. She _wanted _to go back to the beach to see Claire, since she hadn't seen her friend in almost two days, but she lacked the energy to do so. Eddie and Jeff had long since vanished, and Charlie was still off on his search for peanut butter, most likely. Sawyer was still being an ass, possibly dead, and Boone was taking care of Shannon. Scarlett never really realized how much her happiness and entertainment relied on other people.

With a heavy sigh, she got up to go get something to eat, when suddenly she noticed Sun approaching Boone and Shannon. Wondering what that was all about, she wandered over.

"What's that?" Shannon was asking nervously, clutching onto Boone's hand. Sun said something that no one understood. After receiving blank stares from both of them, Sun demonstrated heavy breathing, and then pretending like she was rubbing something on her chest.

"I don't get it," Boone said apologetically. Scarlett stepped forward.

"I think she's saying that that stuff can help with Shannon's breathing," she said. Boone and Shannon looked at her. Scarlett looked at Sun and almost said 'right?' but then stopped herself. That could possibly imply that she knew about Sun's secret, and she didn't want to take any risk in anyone finding out about that. Instead, she gestured to the solution in Sun's hand and then pointed to Shannon. Sun nodded slowly. Then, Scarlett took in a deep breath. "Breathing," she found herself saying. "Help?"

Sun nodded and smiled, saying something in Korean. She again made the motion of rubbing her chest.

"You want to rub that on Shannon's chest?" Boone asked, understanding in his voice. He pointed to Shannon's chest. Sun nodded and smiled.

"What?" Shannon asked incredulously, but Boone just gave her a look, and she fell silent.

"Come on, Shan," he said gently. "It'll help."

She nodded slowly and lay back.

"Okay," she said meekly. Boone nodded at Sun, and she knelt beside Shannon, putting the mixture on the ground beside her and saying something in Korean that sounded very soothing. Scarlett sat down beside Boone and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at Shannon intently, clutching her hand tightly and his lips moving as if in prayer. Sun began to move the mixture slowly over Shannon's chest, and she held a little bit up to the girl's nose for her to smell.

Scarlett smiled and settled back against the stone to watch.

* * *

Boone happened to glance up, and noticed Scarlett leaning against the rock with a smile on her face, watching Shannon. He smiled as well. It was good to know that she cared, even though he had a feeling that if the positions were reversed, and Scarlett was the one with the asthma, then Shannon wouldn't care at all. The thought of Shannon being so cold and heartless was enough for him to feel angry for only a moment, before he remembered the way she had asked him to stay with her. _Don't leave me alone, okay? _

He had never been able to resist her. She was too beautiful, too loving and giving when she wanted to be. He didn't even remember _why _he had fallen in love with her. He just knew that the feeling had always been there, and it wasn't showing any sign of going away any time soon.

"Is that helping, Shan?" he asked, some of his tenderness coming through in his voice. Shannon nodded slightly.

"A little," she whispered. Boone smiled and looked up at Sun.

"Thank you," he said. "Very much."

Sun smiled and nodded and just held some more of the mixture in front of Shannon's nose. Boone just hoped it worked…

* * *

About a half hour later, Jack showed up. He was looking tired and slightly out of it, so Scarlett didn't ask about what had happened with Sawyer. She figured she'd ask him later. Boone walked up to him, talking to him, and brought Jack back.

"I don't know," he said. "It's a miracle. She just showed up with that mixture. She rubbed it on Shannon's chest, and ten minutes later she was breathing."

Jack took some of the mixture from the bowl and smelled it, laughing slightly.

"Eucalyptus," he said, as if the word were synonymous with 'duh'. "Smart, Jack." He shook his head and looked at Sun. "Thank you, very much."

Sun smiled and nodded, and she caught Scarlett's eye. With a secretive smile, Scarlett looked away.

* * *

A few minutes later, Eddie appeared.

"Hey," he said to Scarlett.

"Hey, Eddie," Scarlett replied.

"How's she doing?" Eddie asked nervously. Boone looked at him with confusion.

"She's doing…good," he said slowly.

"That's good," Eddie said with relief. "Well, I was just going back to the beach and thought I'd tell you, Scarlett. Anything you want me to tell Claire when I'm there?"

"Um…just tell her I'll probably be spending tonight here too," Scarlett said.

"Okay, sure, no problem," Eddie said with a smile. Scarlett smiled as well.

"Thanks," she said.

"See you later," Eddie said, waving. Scarlett waved as well. As soon as he was out of sight, Boone turned to her.

"Who was that?" he asked with confusion.

"That was Eddie," Scarlett replied. "I met him earlier."

"Oh," Boone said, nodding. "Cool. Did you talk to…Jeff?"

He said Jeff quietly, as if it were a secret. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she said. "But he hasn't shown any sign of recognizing me. I'm not sure if he's the right one. I'll keep trying though. Maybe he just didn't want to say anything?"

"Yeah," Boone said thoughtfully, nodding and biting his lip slightly. "I hope he's the right guy."

"Thanks," Scarlett replied. "And thanks for pointing him out, too. Quite honestly, I had almost completely forgotten about the letter. There's way too much going on, you know?"

"Yeah," Boone said, shaking his head. "It seems like every few days there's a new emergency. Someone's fighting, someone's getting hurt, someone's getting trapped in a cave…I just hope rescue gets here soon, before we all start killing each other off."

Scarlett nodded sadly. His words reminded her of Sawyer's. _Why bother living life peaceful when you can live it on top? So the fighting starts. The camp splits. People start living for themselves and only themselves. And eventually, something big's gonna happen, and that's when the people start dying. _

"Do you think that's going to happen?" she asked, making a worried face. Boone gave her a confused look. "Like…do you think people are going to start killing each other."

"Yeah," Boone said simply, shrugging. "Like Sayid said, hope is a dangerous thing to lose. When people start to lose it, they probably figure that it's just not worth it to live life by the rules."

Scarlett nodded. That was pretty much the same thing Sawyer said.

"Yeah," she said. "I just hope that _doesn't _happen."

"Yeah," Boone replied with a smile. He turned to Shannon, whose eyes were closed. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Shannon said, and Scarlett noticed that she sounded normal. She smiled.

"Wow, Sun, you really saved the day this time," she said with a grin for the Korean woman. Sun smiled and glanced up at Scarlett. Scarlett was about to say something when suddenly she saw Charlie and Claire walking into the caves, all of her stuff carried between them. She smiled brightly and stood up.

"You guys!" she exclaimed, running to Claire and giving her a hug. "How did you ever convince her to come here?" She gave Charlie a hug as well.

"Peanut butter," Claire said with a shy smile at Charlie.

"What? You actually _found _peanut butter?" Scarlett asked incredulously.

"Well, it was extra smooth," Claire said with a knowing grin in Charlie's direction. Charlie laughed. Scarlett shook her head.

"I don't even want to know what that's supposed to mean," she said.

Claire and Charlie both laughed, and Charlie picked up her stuff again.

"Come on," he said. "Let's find you a nice little spot to sleep, eh?"

"Yeah," Claire said with a smile. "That would be nice. I feel like sleeping right now. That's such a long walk."

"Well, it's not really that bad if you're not pregnant," Charlie pointed out as they started to walk away. Claire laughed and turned back to Scarlett.

"You're okay with moving here, yeah? Charlie and I kind of made a bet, and I figured that since you were here anyway…"

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine with that," Scarlett said with a laugh, waving a hand dismissively. "I wanted to come here from the start, remember. You're the one who wanted to stay."

"True," Claire said, laughing. "I'll help you move your stuff up here now if you want…"

"Nah," Scarlett said quickly. "No, it's okay. I'll just do it in the morning."

"Okay," Claire said. "How've you been holding up?"

She gave Scarlett a serious, knowing look. Scarlett looked at her with confusion.

"I'm fine," she said slowly. "Why?"

"You know, stuff that's been going on lately…" Claire said, trying to give the hint. Scarlett just stared at her. Claire sighed. "With Sawyer! On the way up we heard that he was hurt."

"Oh," Scarlett said, sighing. "No, I'm doing fine with that too. It's his own fault for being such an asshole."

"They said that he never even had the inhalers," Charlie said pointedly. "They say he got tortured for nothing."

"They tortured him?" Scarlett asked, feeling a deep, stabbing pain in her stomach.

"Yeah. Sayid did, anyway," Charlie replied. Claire looked uncomfortable.

"Is he…okay?" Scarlett asked in a quiet voice. Charlie shrugged.

"Dunno," he said. "Last I saw, they were carrying him out of the woods. Jack, Kate, and Sayid."

Scarlett nodded and made a small face. She opened her mouth to say something, when Boone appeared with a water bottle in his hand. When he saw Scarlett talking to Charlie and Claire, he quickly looked the other way and walked past. The other two didn't notice him, but Scarlett did. She suppressed a sigh. Boone was still feeling bad about that thing with the water. She didn't blame him. She thought that Charlie was still a little mad about it, though it had been a while.

"Okay," she said thoughtfully, not really remembering what Charlie had just said. She knew it had something to do with Jack, though. "I have something to do. I'll talk to you two later."

Claire and Charlie both smiled and nodded. Scarlett just crept away and walked up to the waterfall. Boone was kneeling beside it, filling up the water. She walked up and stood beside him, bending over so she was eyelevel.

"You know," she said, startling him greatly. "I think they forgive you."

Boone gave her a look and shook his head, screwing the top on the bottle.

"I don't want to take the chance," he muttered. Scarlett sighed.

"Remember how the four of us used to be close?" she asked sadly. Boone laughed humorlessly.

"Scarlett, you talk about it as if we had been friends for more than just…what…a week and a half?"

"Well, when you spend every waking moment with someone, it kind of strengthens the friendship, don't you think?" Scarlett asked with a smile. Boone stood up. "Like, it feels like you and Claire and Charlie and…um…it feels like you three are like…the only friends I've ever had. It feels like so much longer than just a week!"

"Well, yeah, I know what you mean," Boone said shrugging and standing up. "The fact that there's only forty-six people on this island, and a whole lot of time, there's not much else to do but make friends. I _do _feel like I've known you a lot longer than just a week and a half, or however the hell long we've been out here, but…I don't know…I really don't think Claire and Charlie miss me all that much."

"Well _I _miss the fun we used to have," Scarlett pointed out. Boone started walking, and Scarlett walked after him.

"Well, yeah, me too, but now I have Shannon to look after."

Scarlett nodded slowly and stopped walking. When Boone noticed that she had stopped, he stopped as well and turned to face her.

"That reminded me," she said absently. "I have to go talk to Jack about Sawyer."

Boone nodded, making a face at the mention of the southern man's name.

"Okay," he said. "See you around."

"Yeah. Hope Shannon feels better."

"Thanks."

Scarlett turned around and left Boone, seeking out Jack. She found him bending over some suitcases, looking through them casually.

"Hey," she said to him, smiling slightly. "So what happened?"

Jack looked up questioningly.

"What happened with what?" he asked. Scarlett gave him a look.

"With Sawyer," she said patiently. Jack sighed and pushed himself up, looking tired.

"We did what we had to do," he said, though it sounded to Scarlett that he was trying to convince himself of that statement as much as he was trying to convince her.

"But what _did _you do?" Scarlett asked.

"Sayid did something…some kind of torture thing…" Jack stopped and looked around to make sure that no one was near them. "Look, try not to go spreading this around, okay? I'm only telling you because I know that you and Sawyer have been getting pretty close lately, and I think you deserve to know."

"Right, yeah, I won't tell anyone," Scarlett said, nodding.

"Sayid inserted bamboo shoots under Sawyer's fingernails."

Scarlett winced painfully and shuddered.

"Why?" she asked. "That's so…_barbaric_."

"We did what we had to do to get the inhalers back," Jack said with some force, and again Scarlett had a feeling that he was saying that more as comfort to himself than anything else.

"But I heard that you didn't even get them back," she said. "I heard that he didn't even have them in the first place."  
Jack sighed and hung his head for a few moments before shaking it and bringing his eyes back up to meet Scarlett's.

"No," he said. "He didn't have the inhalers."

"So why wouldn't he just tell us that? Why did he lead us into thinking that he _did_?"

"I don't know," Jack said with a heavy, thoughtful sigh. "When we were…torturing him. He actually seemed to…want it. When Sayid stopped to ask him if he had them, he said 'don't stop now. I think my sinuses are clearing' or something like that."

"Why would he want it?" Scarlett asked, but she and Jack both knew that there was no answer to that one unless they were talking to the man himself. "Where is he now?"

"He's at the beach," Jack said. "I wouldn't suggest going to see him now. I'd wait until the morning."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding. "Right. I'll wait until then."

Jack nodded and smiled.

"Hey, how you holding up anyway?" he asked. "You look…tired."

"Oh, I'm fine," Scarlett said with a smile. "Just some weird dreams I've been having. I've always had them, though, so it's nothing new."

"Oh, okay," Jack said. "Well, if it becomes more of a problem, don't hesitate to find me. I'd be glad to talk to you about it."

"Okay, yeah, thanks, Jack."

Jack and Scarlett smiled at each other, and then Scarlett moved over to find Charlie and Claire. They were sitting together at the fire. Scarlett joined them and the three of them started laughing and talking like old friends. For a while they just sat there, and then Charlie said that he was going to give them some 'girl-talk time' and he was going to go to his own little sleeping area, which was practically on the other side of the caves.

"So what was all that with the peanut butter?" Scarlett asked when Charlie had gone.

"It was _so _sweet," Claire gushed. "We were talking about things that we missed from back home, and he kept saying foods. Like…everything that he said was a food. So I was making fun of him for it, and he asked if there was any foods that I was craving, since I'm pregnant and all. I told him peanut butter, because I absolutely _love _peanut butter. So he made me this bet, and he said that if he found peanut butter, that I would have to move to the caves with him. I agreed, mostly because I really didn't think he was going to find any."

"He was asking me for some earlier," Scarlett said with a smile.

"Yeah, he told me he asked everyone. Like he counted and everything. I was sleeping when he came back. I woke up to him taking my clothes off the clothesline…"

"Clothesline?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Claire said with a smile. "Yesterday some people set up a string so people could hang their drying clothes."

"Oh," Scarlett said, smiling. "That's cool."

"Yeah," Claire said. "They're gonna do it here, too, I heard."

"That's good," Scarlett said. "But keep telling me!"

"Right!" Claire exclaimed, giggling. "So I wake up, and I ask him what he's doing, and he tells me we're moving to the caves. So I got all excited, and he pulls out this empty jar. So, you know, I was really disappointed, and I said 'it's empty', but then he did the cutest thing. He said 'no it isn't', and he opens the top and sticks his finger in and licks it as if he's really eating the most delicious peanut butter on earth. And he says 'it's the best bloody peanut butter I've ever tasted!' then he holds the jar out and smiles at me and says 'want some?'"

Scarlett squealed with delight.

"Claire! That's so cute!" she exclaimed. "Oh my gosh!"

"It was the cutest and funniest thing ever," the pregnant girl gushed. "Only Charlie would think of something like that."

Scarlett nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "And only Charlie would be able to find an unbroken glass jar after we just crashed on an island."

Claire laughed.

"You know…I hadn't thought about that," she said with a thoughtful laugh. "I'll have to ask him where he got that in the morning."

"Yeah," Scarlett laughed. "Hold on. I'll be right back. I have to get the stuff I brought with me."

The stuff that Scarlett brought with her included the stuff that she didn't trust leaving alone at the beach when she went to go get water with Boone; which had been the last time she was at the beach. Her diary was there along with the pictures. Also there was the blanket and pillow that someone had given her the night before. She didn't know exactly who had given it to her, but they hadn't reclaimed it, and everyone seemed to be settling down to sleep, so she took it with her.

On her way back to Claire, who was writing enthusiastically in her journal, Scarlett nearly ran right into Boone. He smiled at her.

"Hey," he said. "You staying at the caves from now on?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a smile. "Are you?"

"Shannon doesn't want to," Boone said sadly. "I've been trying to convince her that it's better up here, but she doesn't want to. We're going back down to the beach tomorrow. She probably just wants to work on her tan or something."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a smile. "Probably."

Boone smiled as well.

"I'll see you around," he said. Scarlett felt slightly sad.

"Yeah," she said. "I'll be seeing you, I guess."  
She gave him an awkward, one-armed hug, and quickly made her way over to Claire, who was smiling at her knowingly.

"Don't look at me like that," Scarlett said. Claire just smiled wider.

"What?" she asked. "I just thought that was really cute.

Scarlett sighed.

"Yeah, completely cute," she said sarcastically. "It was just a hug. Don't go getting any ideas, now."

"Well, a hug can lead to other things," Claire pointed out subtly. Scarlett laughed.

"Not with this," she said. "If you hadn't noticed by now, I hug everyone."

"Well, yeah, but come _on_. _No one _can miss the way he looks at you when you hug _him_."

"Well, apparently I'm the only one who _does _miss it, because people have been talking about the two of us since day five out here, and I haven't noticed anything."

"You're pretty much the only one," Claire replied with a quiet giggle. "Everyone else is already talking about when you two are gong to make it official."

"People on this island have no lives," Scarlett grumbled. Claire burst into another peal of laughter.

"Well, the two of you are cute together," she said. "You should give it a shot."

"I'm not a really relationshippy girl," Scarlett said, making a face. "I've been with three guys like…my entire life, and those didn't turn out too well."

"Well, sounds like you're in need of a change. I think Boone would be an excellent change."

"Well, what about Sawyer"? Scarlett asked. Claire gave her a look.

"I thought you hated him now," she said pointedly.

"I do," Scarlett retorted indignantly. "I'm just saying that I spend just as much time with him as I do with Boone, and no one seems to be talking about us."

"Oh, people talk," Claire said, waving her hand absently. "But I choose to ignore it. I think Boone would be a much better match. Don't you?"

"I'm not getting into this conversation," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "Besides, he probably has a girlfriend anyway."

"Nope," Claire said, grinning. "I asked him a while ago. He hasn't had a girlfriend in a while. Not one he cares about anyway. He had a lot of meaningless ones, he told me."

"Yeah…and exactly _how _is a guy like that a good match for me?" Scarlett asked. "One who apparently can't keep his hands on a girl for too long before getting restless."

"I don't think he's like that," Claire replied. "I think that there was probably was some relationship in the past that meant a lot to him, and he's been dating around, trying to live up to that relationship, but he just can't find it."

Scarlett gave her friend a look.

"Did he tell you that, too?" she asked.

"Nope," Claire replied. "That's what I think is going on."

"Well, you might be right," Scarlett said, leaning forward as if she was going to tell a secret. "But it doesn't matter because there's nothing besides friendship there anyway."

Claire was silent for a moment, just watching her with a small, amused smile on her face. Then, she laughed.

"You have a thing for Sawyer, don't you?"

"What?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "No, I really don't."

"You _do_," Claire responded. "You _must_."

"I _don't_," Scarlett retorted. "God, what gave you that idea?"

"You spend…well, spent, a lot of time with him, and you're constantly talking about stuff he said…"

"He's funny!"

"Well, yeah, but he's also a jackass."

"Not all the time," Scarlett said defensively. Claire gave her a pointed look. "Claire! That doesn't mean anything! He's a friend. Was. A friend."

"You still have something for him," Claire said in a sing-song voice. Scarlett shook her head and couldn't help a small smile.

"It's only been like…what, a week and a half or something, and already you're trying to make me a match."

Claire shrugged and looked serious for a moment.

"Look," she said. "I don't know _exactly_ what went on when you were back in your real life, but obviously it was nothing good. I've had my own relationship problems. Being stuck out here…meeting people…how can it be a bad thing if you meet someone you might have feelings for?"

Scarlett was silent for a long moment, just staring at the nearby fire thoughtfully. Then, she nodded.

"I get it," she said. "But I really just don't know. I don't know what I want."

"I know," Claire said softly, "But just try to be happy out here. A smile never seems to stay on your face for long."

Scarlett looked at Claire in surprise and saw her looking back, very sad.

'Okay," she said softly, ducking her head and looking at the ground. "I'll try."

Claire smiled and patted her friend's shoulder.

"Now, about Boone…"

"Claire!"

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

_(Boone sits down next to Scarlett)_

**Boone: **Having trouble sleeping?

_(Scarlett and Boone are further into their conversation, both laughing.)_

**Scarlett: **Sawyer reminds me of my brother. When my brother was nice.

**Boone: **What do you mean by 'when he was nice'?

**Scarlett: **When I was sixteen, my mother was killed, and Anthony blamed me.

(Cut to Scarlett standing in the forest in the rain, looking around. A man stands in front of her with his back to her. She whirls around and Sawyer is standing there.)

**Sawyer: **You told me 'no'. You told me you'd never killed a man.

**Scarlett: **I haven't. I've _never _killed a man.

**Sawyer: **You lied.

(The man with his back to her turns around, and his face is covered in blood.)

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	24. Confidence Man Part 4

Here we go!

Hehe, I've been writing _a lot _lately. I'm already completely finished writing "Raised By Another", and am on page 12 of "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues". I've also been working a lot on my myspace. (Which completely shows I'm utterly _obsessed _with Lost!) I seem to have a lot of time lately, and I LOVE it!

Thanks to my lovely reviewers who read and reviewed!

**Chrizz: **Well wait no longer, because it's HERE! Thanks for the review!

**ShalBrenFan: **Haha, yeah, it's wicked cool. I really wanted to stop watching Lost when Boone died, because I was _so _upset, but I just couldn't! Hehe, I have my own ideas about what to do when "Do No Harm" comes. It will be sad and depressing. That's all I'm saying. Doesn't necessarily mean what you think it might, however…or does it? (I really hope they decide to bring him back to life on the show though. That would rule soooo much!) Thanks for reviewing!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Hehehe, I like making suspense. At least…I try! This chapter is kind of a shocker, I'd like to think. I could be wrong, but I like to pretend, lol! Happy birthday to you too, whenever yours is! Mine is May 15. I'm a cool kid! Thanks for reviewing!

**TotallyLost: **Haha, I hope it's a doozy! I tried to make it one! Thanks for the review!

**Dark syrinx: **Wow, thanks! Self confidence just got like…boosted though the roof! Thanks so much. I try to write good, lol, but I've never really been confident with myself. Thanks for the review and the kind words!

**Miss Dior: **Haha, I try to help in any way I can! And yeah, Scarlett knows about Sun, but she has yet to hold a real conversation with her! She will soon though. I predict it! I agree that both would make cute couples, but there's definitely one special one! Haha! Wow…Australia? That's awesome! Not awesome that you're so far behind, of course, but the Lost geek in me loooves Australia! Yeah…Do No Harm is extremely depressing. Just the whole episode. I think I started crying at the very beginning, and didn't stop until the end. I cry at like…everything, lol. Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **I _loved _the peanut butter thing. Every time I say peanut butter, I say it in an Australian accent. I really do. It's such a weeiirrddd habit, lol. OMG, you made a shirt! And I _love _the description! Great idea with the "Gods friggin gift to humanity" thing! That's so great! Hahaha, thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Hahaha, it is indeed getting Sizzling! Yeah, the bamboo thing always kinda made me go 'ummmm…WHAT?' Silly Sawyer! I love that chapter of your story, lol. Hannah telling Mike off was wicked funny! Thanks for the review!

Yeah…while typing the title below…I realized that I have problems spelling Confidence. It took me like…11 times. Go figure!

* * *

**Confidence Man (4): **You Ever Killed A Man, Sox?

Later that night, Scarlett lay awake, when everyone else was sleeping. The only sound was Claire's breathing beside her, and the crackling of the fire nearby. She sighed and sat up, picking up her water bottle and taking a drink.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

Scarlett jumped in surprise and looked to the right, where the voice had come from. It was Boone.

"Yeah," she said, grinning. He was sitting down on a log next to the waterfall, but when she responded, he got up and walked over to her, sitting down beside her. "Cave floor isn't exactly my choice sleeping material."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Boone replied with a smile. There was a short silence, and then Boone spoke. "I…uh…heard you and Claire's little conversation…"

Scarlett laughed and groaned, shaking her head.

"She just won't give up," she said. "She just wants me to hook up with someone so badly. She's _convinced_ that I have a thing for Sawyer."

"You don't?" Boone asked with surprise. "I thought you did."

"No!" Scarlett exclaimed, laughing. "In fact, right now I hate him beyond anything…but really, I don't have anything for him."

"Oh…" Boone said, laughing. "You could've fooled me!"

Scarlett shook her head.

"Sawyer reminds me of my brother," she said thoughtfully. "When my brother was nice. Well, technically, he was my half-brother."

"What do you mean by 'when he was nice'?" Boone asked.

"Well," Scarlett explained sadly. "When I was sixteen Ste…my mother was killed, and Anthony started hating me. He blamed me."

"Why?" Boone asked, sounding horrified.

"He had his reasons," Scarlett muttered. "But they didn't make sense."

"Huh," Boone said after a long pause, since there didn't really seem to be anything else to say. They sat there in silence for a few more moments, before Boone sighed and stood up. "Well, I'll let you sleep," he said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I'm going down to the beach to get my stuff tomorrow. I'll walk back with you and Shannon."

"Yeah, sounds cool," Boone agreed, nodding. "See you then."

"Night," Scarlett said.

"Night," Boone said with a smile, and he moved off into the darkness of the caves.

Scarlett lay back and found herself a lot more relaxed than she had been before her little chat with Boone. A half-hour or so later, she quietly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_"What are you doing?"_

_"What?"_

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Go away."_

_"Are you drunk?"_

_"No."_

_"You're drunk! Stephen! What are you doing? You know you're not supposed to!"_

_"Fuck doctors."_

_"Stephen! You could die!"_

_"Yeah, and that would make you so upset, wouldn't it?"_

_Scarlett's eyes opened, and she found herself back in that clearing; the one with the white flowers. Four people stood in front of her. Four of her. Four Scarletts. _

_The first one was little and dressed in a pink nightgown with Barbie on it. She was clutching a teddy bear and looking frightened. Her eyes were big with terror as she looked around. _

_"Mommy?" she asked. "What happened to daddy?"_

_The second in the line was a little older. She was wearing a nightgown as well, but there was no teddybear. There were bruises decorating her arms and legs, and there was a long scrape on her face. Scarlett knew that if she could see the girl's stomach, she would see a giant purple and black bruise. _

_"Mark, stop it!" the second girl screamed hysterically. "Mark! No! Stop!"_

_The third girl in the line, Scarlett knew well. She was sixteen. She was wearing jeans and a pink Red Sox tank top. Scarlett would always remember those clothes. _

_"What did you do to her?" the girl screamed. "Mom? _Mom_? MOM! Oh my God…she's dead! You killed her!"_

_Scarlett felt tears coming to her eyes. The final girl looked very much like she did at the present, only her arms and legs were decorated with bruises and welts very much like the second girl's. _

_"I'm leaving," this girl said. "Carol, please don't try to stop me. Because you can't. I'm leaving."_

_All the girls stood staring at her, eyes wet with tears. All of them crying. Crying for her. Crying for each other. Crying for the pain they all had to endure. _

_"You know he can make it better," said Claire's voice from behind her. "You know you need him. You know you can't dismiss him forever."_

_Scarlett turned around to look at her friend, and saw Boone, Sawyer, Eddie, Jeff, and Jack standing behind her, staring at her. _

_"Who?" she asked Claire, seeking out her friend's voice. As hard as she looked, she couldn't see the pregnant girl. "Who are you talking about?"_

_"You know who," Claire's voice came again. The other men all faded, leaving Sawyer ad Boone standing there. Scarlett shook her head. _

_"You don't understand…" she said, but suddenly the world around her started to fade to black. "I want…"_

_She was suddenly in the forest, while rain poured down all around her. A scream cut through the air. She whirled around and was suddenly struck down by something hitting her shoulder. She screamed and jumped back up, looking around. There was a man standing there, his back to her. _

_"You ever killed a man?"_

_Scarlett whirled around and saw Sawyer standing there behind her. _

_"Sawyer…" she said with relief. "What's going on?"_

_"You told me 'no'," Sawyer said bitterly. "You told me you never killed a man."_

_"I haven't," Scarlett said with confusion. "I've _never _killed a man."_

_"You lied."_

_Sawyer pointed over Scarlett's shoulder, and she turned around to see that the man was slowly turning around. When she saw his face, she gasped in horror and felt the contents of her stomach slowly rising. _

_His face was covered in blood. A giant…hole through his head splurted blood in all directions, covering the jungle floor and washing away in the rain. _

_"You have killed a man," said the corpse. "You have."_

_"No," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "I didn't kill you."_

_"I'm not saying it wasn't the right thing to do," Sawyer said softly. "But you did kill him."_

_"No," Scarlett denied again. "I didn't kill him. He shot himself. He killed himself."_

_"You know that ain't what really happened," Sawyer sneered. Then everything around her crashed to blackness._

_When the light slowly faded back, she was back in her old house. She knew what was coming. She was in the kitchen. There was yelling coming from the living room. She didn't want to go there. She went down the hallway into the familiar bedroom with the peeling pink wallpaper. _

_Opening the door, the walked in slowly, looking around with tears filling her eyes. The fading rose painting on the wall, the meager toys stuffed into a corner, the tattered bedspread…it was all the same. _

_And then she saw herself. She was fourteen, and huddling in the corner, crying. Scarlett walked over to her former self and knelt down on the floor beside her. _

_"It's okay," she whispered, but she knew the girl couldn't hear her. Suddenly, she heard a door slam outside, and a car started up. Young Scarlett jumped up and ran to the window. _

_"Mom!" she gasped. Before she could act, there were the heavy thudding footsteps walking down the hall. _

_Older Scarlett backed away into a corner, shaking her head disbelievingly._

_"No," she whispered. "No! Run!"_

_Young Scarlett dove into the corner just as Mark barreled into the room. He grabbed her and shook her by the shoulders violently. _

_"What the fuck do you think your problem is?" he roared drunkedly, slapping her twice across the face. "Tellin' your mom about that. I fucking told you not to tell anyone."_

_Scarlett watched, horrified, as her memories played out in front of her._

_"Mark, stop it! No! Mark, stop!"_

_Scarlett sank to the floor and hid her face, sobbing into her hands. She heard her young self screaming as the abuse continued. Physical, emotional, sexual…Scarlett remembered it all. She refused to look until she heard the loud clattering on the floor. She looked up. A gun lay not three feet from her. Mark had dropped it. It was the one he wore in his pants every day at his job. He didn't notice. Young Scarlett did. She tore out of Mark's grasp and grabbed it off the ground. He lurched towards her and grabbed her leg, pulling her back, but young Scarlett had the gun, and she knew what she had to do. _

_She raised the gun and fired. Though the shot was silent, it seemed to ring louder than anything. His face seemed to explode into a gory display of red fireworks, and she screamed, flying back into the corner, practically on top of her older image. A hole of blood where his eye used to be, Mark fell to the ground, and there was a long silence before young Scarlett slowly and shakily got to her feet. She walked over to Mark. And when she saw that he was completely dead, she kicked him. She kicked him again and again in the chest, stomach…anywhere, tears streaming down her face. _

_"I fucking hate you!" she screamed, over and over again as she beat his lifeless body with her hands and feet. When the fight finally went out of her, she sank onto her bed and started to cry. For a long, long time she just sat there, sobbing. Older Scarlett remained in her corner, watching with a breaking heart. _

_After a long while, younger Scarlett slowly stood up, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She stood looking down at the body with contempt and a little bit of fear. Slowly, so slowly, she walked over to the door and opened it. Then, she walked back and pulled Mark up, grabbing him under the arms and dragging him out the door, careful not to get any blood on the floor. _

_Scarlett got up and followed the girl out of the room, remembering the fear that had been pounding through her veins when that had happened. She watched as she dragged him into his bedroom, and lay him down on the floor, arranging his limbs so it looked like he had just fallen. Then, she ran back into her room with the big sponge that her mom used to clean the floors. She put it on top of the pool of blood that was on the floor, and watched calmly as it soaked it up. Older Scarlett watched it with the same expression, remembering how it had fascinated her at the time. _

_"Okay," younger Scarlett said, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath. "Now what…"_

_She picked up the sponge and ran into the bathroom with it, swearing under her breath when some blood spilled on the floor. She made a mental note to clean it up later. She dropped the sponge into the bathtub and positioned it under the faucet so that that water fell directly onto it. She turned the water on high and then got a smaller sponge from under the sink and wet it. She went back into her room and scrubbed the hardwood floors clean. Thankfully, there was no stain left behind. She dropped practically a roll of paper towels on top of the wetness to clean it up, and then she hurried back into the hallway, where she crawled along, wiping up the blood that had dripped on the floor. When all that was done, she ran back into where Mark still lay, the gun in her hand. She dropped it to the ground beside him and hurried out after making sure everything looked good, locking the door behind her. When that was done, she ran into the bathroom, sighing with relief when she saw that the sponge was clean._

_Through all of this, Scarlett was watching herself, sadness in her gaze. She remembered all of this so well. Every step she took, every movement she made, she remembered as clearly as if it had happened the day before, and not 7 years before. _

_Young Scarlett washed her hands of the incriminating blood, shaking profusely. She refused to look into the mirror, because she knew she would start to cry. She went into her bedroom again and looked around, making sure that everything looked normal, before she pulled out new pajamas from her drawer. Then, she went back into the bathroom and got into the shower. _

_Older Scarlett sat outside the bathroom in the hallway, her knees pulled up to her chest. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye, and watched as Boone walked towards her. He got to her side and crouched beside her, _

_"Come on," he said gently. "Let's get you out of here, all right?"_

_Scarlett nodded and sniffled. She knew what happened next. Young Scarlett would get out of the shower, and she would take her bloody pajamas and burn them in the fireplace. Her mother would come home, and Scarlett would hide in her room, crying, until her mother found her. She would say that Mark shot himself after raping her. Her mother would believe her, and she would call up Anthony. Together, they would get through it, and together they would move on. _

_And Scarlett had thought that she had moved on. She had pushed the rape out of her mind, and she had told herself that he hadn't _really _raped her, though that didn't work. She also tried to tell herself that it was an accident. After a while, she even tried to convince herself that Mark _had _shot himself. But she had never fully believed it._

_Boone held out a hand, and she took it gratefully. He stood up and pulled her with her. _

_"It's time to move on," he said. She nodded. Sawyer appeared suddenly as well, looking at her sadly. _

_"Come on, kid," he said, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Boone took her other side, and together they walked out of the memory.

* * *

_

Boone was still awake, and he heard Scarlett's great, gasping sobs as she awoke from her nightmare. He wanted to ask her what was wrong. He wanted to comfort her. He was good at comforting people. He thought maybe he should…

But he didn't. He didn't because he thought it would give her the wrong idea. He thought that maybe she would think that he was trying to make something more of their friendship. And he wasn't. Not at all. There was nothing further from the truth…or was there?

When she finally fell silent, hiccupping with involuntary sobs once and a while, he rolled over and closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound. But long after she was done crying, he still heard her in his head.

* * *

**Next chapter: **

(Boone sits down next to Scarlett)

**Boone: **Look…last night I was having trouble sleeping, and I heard you crying. I wanted to go over…but I wasn't sure what was wrong, and I thought maybe you wouldn't want me to…basically I just wanted to ask you if you're okay.

(Scarlett looks at him, obviously touched. Cut to Claire, Scarlett, and Boone all sitting in a circle.)

**Claire: **I think you'd be happier if you had someone there for you. You know, just someone to hold on to when it gets dark; someone who would take care of you when you were sick; someone that you would take care of when _they _were sick…Fairy-tale stuff.

(Shot of Boone, shot of Sawyer. Scarlett stands in the entrance of Sawyer's shelter, looking down on him as he sleeps. She turns to go.)

**Sawyer (O.C.): **You didn't really think I was sleeping, did you, Sox?

(Scarlett turns around to face Sawyer, who's smiling.)

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway.**


	25. Solitary Part 1

Weeeee, update!

Happy July 4th a couple of days ago for all you Americans. I went to like…three parties. Sooooo much FOOD! And my aunt is Phillipenese (Totally butchered that spelling, I know!) so she is a REALLY good cook. I was in HEAVEN!

And, to my great happiness, I also finished The Stand! It was 1154 pages. That is a LONG book! And it was TALL too! But, I posted this here because it has a LOT of similarities to LOST! There's a pregnant woman who dreams of someone hurting her baby, a faithful dog, and a 'sickness'. There's also a lot of good and evil, which there seems to be in Lost. You should all read it; it's a really good book. Scary, and really long, but VERY good. And very LOST!

Haha, okayyy, anyway!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Yes! Shocker! Lol. I was hoping it was! I try to give my fanfiction a plot, though sometimes I kind of wander away from the plot a little! Haha! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Oh yes, tons of flashbacks! I wanted that dream/memory to be most of the chapter, because it was really long and it seemed like it could be its own chapter. Yes, Sawyer is being quite annoying, but he's in the chapter, so look out! lol. I predict that he'll be getting a tad nicer sometime soon. I love Boone too! He was always my favorite :( That's why I should never pick favorite characters! They always die! Haha, I'll give you a hint that the hooking up is soon. Not TOO soon, but soon. Yay for updates on your story! I can't wait! Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **I know, poor Scarlett. Boone really should have gotten over his fear of…whatever he was afraid of and gone over there. I'm sure she would have appreciated it. Thanks for the review!

**MissDior: **Poor, poor Scarlett. She's had a roouugggghhh life. It's not over yet! She's got many more rough things to come. Haha, I was writing All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues the other day, and there was a flashback when Stephen said pretty much the same thing about Scarlett shooting Mark. That was back when he was nice, of course! Haha, you'll just have to read and see about Scarlett and Sawyer….Thanks for the review!

**Rockasoul: **Yeah….you just reminded me how friggin long this story is! 24 chapters and we're not even halfway there yet! Oh jeez! Haha, I'm glad you still like it though. Scarlett and Sawyer WILL have a reconciliation, lol, but about the kissing? Well, you'll just have to read and find out…Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **I know, poor Scarlett! There's a lot more in her past, too, that's more troubling. She's going to tell Mr. Blank all about it, I think, when the time comes. She's going to tell him all about Stephen, because he shares a secret with her. Thanks for the review!

**Pink hardcore: **Claire is definitely my third favorite after Boone and Sawyer. She's so awesome, which is why I picked her for Scarlett's best friend on the island. Though, who says she's right about Scarlett having feelings for Sawyer? Hehehe! You never know which way I'm gonna go! Thanks for the review!

**IZZY: **I keep forgetting to call you Izzy! Lol, I can be so slow sometimes, it's ridiculous! Anyway, I really, really do have fun with this story! It's like…my life! Lol. I bought this binder yesterday and am going to put the story in there with a pretty cover and pretty episode titles and such. I've only printed out up to House of the Rising Sun (I can't print when my parents aren't home because A, they don't know I write it and would probably get mad if they read it, and B, because they would kill me if they knew I was using so much paper) and its already like…134 pages long. And that's in size ten font! But still, I love doing it. It's amusing me so much! I also hope that they bring back Boone, because it's just too depressing without him. Plus, Shannon and Sayid need to stay broken up, and Boone and Shannon need to get back together! Any ideas? Hmmm…..you could do something Lost related, cus Lost is life! Like…something about the ships you support, maybe. Skate or Shoone or PB+J, lol. That would be sweeeetttt. Or Scroone! Haha, j/k!. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Yeah, Scarlett's got some guts in her to kill him, lol. The reason I follow all the episodes…is because I have massive OCD about things like that. I also have to keep the number of days right in between each episode! I'm such a freak! Lol, thanks for the review!

**Dark syrinx: **Even though you're only on chapter 4, I have a feeling you'll catch up soon, lol. I'm glad I could keep you sane! WRITING this story is keeping ME sane, hahaha! Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Solitary (1): **Comfort and Reconciliation

When Scarlett awoke in the morning, it was still slightly dark out. She wiped her eyes, which were still wet from when she had woken from her dream the night before, and she slowly sat up, stretching and looking around; making sure that Claire was still there. She was.

Scarlett pulled out her diary and continued where she had left off earlier in the night (or morning?), when she discovered that she couldn't sleep.

* * *

_I just don't know. Maybe Claire's right. Maybe I do feel something. Oh well. I'll get to talk to him today, so…well, actually, I don't really know what that means, because I've talked to him a lot before. It's just that I don't really know if I'm ready for something, I guess. Okay…this makes no sense. I'm done. Scarlett.

* * *

_

Scarlett practically threw her book down and got up, tossing the blankets off of her moodily. The fires around them were burning out, and only a few people were awake. Jack was one of them. He was getting water and some bandages, rummaging through some stuff, grumbling under his breath.

"Hey, Jack," she said timidly, walking up to him. He smiled at her absently.

"Hi," he said.

"Are you…going to see Sawyer?" she asked. Jack finally stopped rummaging and looked up at her.

"Yeah," he said. There was a pause. "You wanna come?"

"No, I'm okay," Scarlett said. "I was gonna walk down with Shannon and Boone later…I just…I was just wondering."

"You want me to tell him something for you?" Jack asked patiently.

"Um…no, no that's okay," Scarlett said quickly. "Just…do you think he's going to be okay?"

"Oh, yeah, he'll be fine," Jack said lightly. "It wasn't that bad."

"Okay," Scarlett said, smiling lightly. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack nodded and shrugged and smiled. She grinned in return and walked away.

She looked over towards Boone and saw that he was just getting up. She smiled and walked over to him cheerily.

"Hey," she said. He smiled at her sleepily, looking like a little kid, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Hey," he mumbled. "Is Shannon up yet?"

"Nope," Scarlett said, looking at Shannon's sleeping form resting against the rock wall of the cave. "She's still out, and, by the looks of it, will be for a while."

Boone nodded and smiled, shaking his head.

"You have no idea," he laughed. "She can be knocked out for a while when she's like this."

Scarlett laughed and Boone sat down, patting the cave floor beside him. Scarlett joined him.

"Um…" Boone said slowly, looking unsure. "Look…last night I was having trouble sleeping, and I heard you crying. I wanted to go over…but I wasn't sure what was wrong, and I thought maybe you wouldn't want me to…basically I just wanted to ask you if you're okay."

Scarlett remembered waking up and crying, but she hadn't thought anyone else was awake at the time. She sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know," she said, smirking without humor up at him, looking into his eyes. "I have these dreams…I mean, I've always had them, but they're especially bad now; and I just…God, I just wish they'd go away, you know?"

"Yeah," Boone said, nodding, his eyes fixed on her intently as if his very life depended on listening to every word she said. He was a good listener. "You sounded pretty bad last night…you might want to talk to Jack."

"I don't know what being with Jack would do," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I mean…I don't think he can do anything."

"Yeah," Boone said, nodding slowly. "So what do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Hope they don't get any worse, I guess."

Boone grinned at her sadly and shrugged.

"That seems like all you _can _do, huh?" he said. Scarlett nodded morosely. Boone put a hand on her back comfortingly.

"Hey," he said. "It's all right. They're just dreams, right? They can't hurt you."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Yeah, they can't."

They sat there like that for a while, with Boone rubbing circles around Scarlett's back, comforting her like he had comforted Shannon the night before. He was good at it. After a while, she forgot all about her dream and found herself talking and laughing quietly, constantly reprimanded by the people who were still trying to sleep. After a while, people started waking up, and they didn't have to worry about being quiet anymore.

At one point, Claire woke up, and Boone almost made to go, but Scarlett stopped him by grasping his hand

"It's okay," she said slowly. He made a face, but didn't go anywhere.

"Morning, Claire," Scarlett said with a smile. Claire smiled at the both of them sleepily.

"Hey, Scarlett. Hey, Boone. Hey, how's Shannon?"

"Shannon's good," Boone said robotically. He was sitting perfectly still, as if he thought his movements would make Claire angry with him.

"Good!" Claire exclaimed happily. "And how've you been?"

"Oh, fine," Boone said, grinning nervously. "How about you?"

"Excellent," Claire said, smiling. "So are you staying at the caves now?"

"No," Boone said, with just a touch of sadness. "Shannon wants to go to the beach. Wants to work on her tan."

He rolled his eyes. Scarlett and Claire both grinned and hid their laughter.

"That's sad," Claire said quietly. "We'll live so far away!"

"Yeah," Boone and Scarlett both said slowly.

"Well, we'll certainly see each other _sometimes_," Clare said with a bright smile.

"Yeah," Scarlett said quickly. "Yeah, definitely."

Boone nodded and turned to check on Shannon. She was still sleeping.

"I'm gonna go get Shannon some water," he said. "You ladies want some?"

"Sure," Claire said.

"Okay," Scarlett replied. "Thanks."

"No problem," Boone grinned. He stood up and started to go get some water. Claire smiled.

"Glad he's finally decided to talk to me again," she said. "I swear…did he think I was mad at him or something?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, grinning. "I think Charlie still might be a tad bit mad, honestly."

"Oh, probably," Claire said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't put it past him."

The two women shared a laugh. Boone returned, grinning.

"Something funny?" he asked. Claire giggled.

"We were just talking about Charlie," she said.

"He's a little protective," Scarlett said.

"I noticed," Boone remarked, making his now-famous-among-Claire-and-Scarlett Wiggly Eyebrow Face. Both girls giggled.

"Will you keep it down?" came a sour voice from the left. The person who spoke was Randy. He made a face at them and then walked off slowly, tossing a couple of glares over his shoulder as he went. As soon as he was gone, all three allowed themselves to dissolve into childish giggles.

"I swear to God he's stalking us," Claire said. "It's like he can sense us beginning to have fun, and he hurries over just so that doesn't happen!"

"I know!" Scarlett exclaimed. "He really does."

"Sometimes I wonder if anyone else around here can stand him, or if we're just the only ones who hate him," Boone said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, there are others," Scarlett said with a laugh. "Joanna…hated him. Scott does. Jack's not too fond of him either. At least…I don't think he is."

"Randy _does _seem to be trying to be some sort of leader," Boone said. "And I bet that pisses Jack off."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Sometimes Jack pisses me off too, but generally Randy pisses me off more, so I'll go with Jack on that one."

"Amen," Boone laughed. Claire nodded.

"Completely," she said. "Jack's starting to bother me less now."

"Yeah, sometimes," Scarlett said with a grin. "He's been okay the past couple of days."

"Yeah," Claire said. "There have been a lot of changes in a lot of people in the last couple of days."

Scarlett didn't need to ask in whom. She saw the little, secretive glance that her friend shot in the direction of the sleeping Charlie. Boone caught it too, and he and Scarlett grinned at each other.

"Yeah," they both said in unison.

"Are you going to go down and visit Sawyer today?" Claire asked in a suggestive tone. Scarlett shot her a look.

"For the last time," she said with a huff of a laugh. "There is _nothing _between me and Sawyer. Right now, I can't even tell you how much I hate him."

"She's in denial," Claire said to Boone, as if Scarlett weren't sitting right there. "She really doesn't know what she's talking about. She has a thing for Sawyer. I _know _she does."

"I _don't_!" Scarlett laughed. "Really, Claire, this isn't high school!"

"We're not _that _old!" Claire laughed. "We're only a couple of years out of high school! We're young enough to still be gossiping about this stuff!"

"Yeah, but in case you hadn't noticed, Sawyer's not," Scarlett said pointedly.

"He can't be _that _old," Claire said.

"He looks pretty old," Boone spoke up. "I mean…he looks like someone who's old, but looks young."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "I mean…he's probably not any older than forty, but _still_."

"Age is nothing but a number," Claire pointed out, grinning mischievously.

"Well, _yeah_, but it still doesn't matter!" Scarlett exclaimed. Claire laughed. "I don't see why you think there's something there. There's really not."

"You can say whatever you want, but there's something there, and you know it."

Scarlett just shook her head and smiled.

"I know what I know, and I know that there's nothing there," she said.

Boone grinned at the both of them and shook his head.

"Now I remember why I hated high school," he said. "All the gossip…I could never keep up with it."

"Well, in the high school there was like…more than three hundred people. Here, there are only forty-eight. Way easier," Claire said. Boone laughed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But still just as confusing! Why do you think that Scarlett and Sawyer have something going on?"

"Oh, they don't," Claire said. "I just think they should. I think they would be cute."

Boone shrugged.

"Maybe," he said. "But I don't know…Sawyer's kind of a jerk."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "He _is_. No kinda involved in this one."

"Well, yeah, but I'm not one to question your judgment!" Claire exclaimed. "I mean, whoever you pick is just fine with me…"

"I'm not picking anyone!" Scarlett exclaimed. Claire sighed, but still smiled.

"I think you should," she said. "Having someone to fall back on when you need it feels really good. I have a feeling you haven't had that in a while."

"Try never," Scarlett muttered, but it wasn't meant for them to hear her. She spoke louder. "Not really."

Claire nodded.

"I think you'd be happier if you had someone there for you," she said. "You know, just someone to hold on to when it gets dark; someone who would take care of you when you were sick; someone that you would take care of when _they _were sick…" Claire trailed off wistfully. "Fairy-tale stuff."

"It's not that I don't _want _any of those things…there's just not someone who will offer them at the moment," Scarlett replied. "I mean…Sawyer's not that kind of guy. He's not the type to comfort and hold and take care of. And he certainly wouldn't ever let me take care of him. He's the type of guy who wants it to be all about him in a relationship. I can't have something like that. I just can't deal with it, you know?"

"You've dealt with it before though, haven't you?" Claire said. "I can tell, just by the way you talk."

"I've dealt with it, yes," Scarlett said slowly. "Not something I want to go through again."

Claire and Boone looked at her sympathetically.

"I know the feeling," Boone said after a while. "Someone always wants themselves in the center of attention. They always want you to take care of them and want you to get jealous…yeah…I can see why you wouldn't want that."

"I know it too," Claire said slowly. "They don't care what'll happen to you if they leave. They only care that they're too stressed out to deal with it."

"Looks like we've all had our fill of bad relationships," Scarlett said after a long moment of silence. Boone nodded. Claire grimaced.

"Yeah," she said.

"Hasn't everyone?" Boone asked quietly.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "Probably."

Scarlett looked down at the ground, trying to keep the tears at bay. When she looked back up, however, she saw Claire looking back at her, her eyes sad. Slowly, the tears began to fall. Claire noticed and leaned forward to embrace her friend.

"It's okay," she murmured gently.

"I know," Scarlett said with a laugh and a sniffle, wiping the tears out of her eyes stubbornly. "I just…oh, never mind. I need to stop."

"Stop what?" Claire asked.

"Whining. Complaining about my life. I used to hate it when people did it, and now here I am, doing the exact same thing."

"You can tell us, you know," Boone said uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Claire said quickly. "You can. We can help you."

Scarlett shook her head, wiping the tears away again; this time with more force.

"No," she said. "It's okay…I just…It's all right."

Claire gave her a look that clearly said she didn't believe her, but she wasn't going to press the issue. She just shrugged and nodded.

"Okay," she said quietly. Scarlett turned and looked to see if Shannon was awake. Claire and Boone glanced at each other, their eyes speaking volumes. They knew that she was keeping something from them. They just didn't know what it was.

"Boone, where's my water?"

Claire and Boone, who weren't already looking at Shannon like Scarlett was, both jumped in surprise and looked up at her.

"Oh," Boone said slowly. "Sorry, Shan. I forgot it."

"Will you just get it?" Shannon asked, growling under her breath. Boone started to stand up, but then seemed to think for a moment, and slowly sat back down.

"Why don't you get it yourself," he said simply. "You're fine. Don't go giving me that look. If you can walk to the beach today, then you can get your own water."

Shannon growled something that Scarlett didn't understand, and then she threw the blankets off of her and got up, stalking across the caves to go find water.

"God, she's such a bitch," Boone muttered, looking after her. Scarlett didn't miss the remorse in his voice.

"She can have her moments when she can be really nice," she pointed out comfortingly.

"Yeah, there's moments," Boone laughed bitterly. "But overall, she's just a lying, conning, bitch."

Claire and Scarlett were silent. Obviously, Boone knew a lot more about Shannon than they did; and he seemed extremely upset about something.

"Well…" Claire said after a long pause. "Scarlett and I aren't lying and conning bitches, so you don't have to worry about that."

Boone grinned slightly.

"True," he said. "I don't."

"What are you doing that's so important that you couldn't just get up and get me my water?" came Shannon's voice from behind him. They all looked at her with surprise.

"I'm talking, Shan. I have _friends _here. You know, I made them, which is something that you seem completely incapable of doing."

"You know what, shut up!" Shannon interrupted. "I don't care about making friends because rescue's coming. I don't _need _to make friends. I _have _friends back home."

"Oh, right," Boone said bitterly, with a false laugh. "Because Scarlett _didn't _just spend two days up here making sure that you were okay. Because you _didn't_ have people running left and right to make you better. It's so great that people care about you Shan. It's even better that you don't care about them."

"Yeah? Sorry Captain America, but I'm not like you, okay? I don't like to talk to people and listen to their shitty problems. I have problems too, okay?"

"Yeah? Like what?" Boone sneered. Shannon just stared at him, eyes watering and lip quivering. Boone looked like he was going to back down and go comfort her, but he didn't. He just sat there and watched her and waited. There was a long, agonizingly awkward silence. Then…

"We're going back to the beach. Let's go."

She turned on her heel and grabbed her blanket. Boone sighed and stood up. Scarlett started to stand up as well, and Boone helped her the rest of the way. She smiled at him thankfully.

"I'll see you in a little bit," she said to Claire. "I'm gonna get my stuff."

"Don't you need help carrying it up?" Claire asked. "You have a lot."

"Oh, I'll help her," Boone said, shrugging and looking at Scarlett as if for permission.

"Really?" Scarlett asked. "I don't want to have to make you come all the way back up here…"

"No, it's all right," Boone said. "Who else down at the beach do I talk to? No one. I don't have other stuff to do or anything either, so I'll just help you out. Why not?"

He grinned at her, and she smiled back genuinely.

"Thanks," she said slowly. "Really. You're so awesome."

"I'm not all that," Boone replied with a laugh. Scarlett laughed as well as they said goodbye to Claire and started walking down after Shannon.

"It's gonna be kinda sad not having you right down the beach," Scarlett said, grinning up at him.

"Yeah, it will be," Boone agreed with a small, humorless laugh. "With no one down there but Shannon to bitch at me…" He trailed off and looked at Shannon's retreating back, making a face. Scarlett laughed.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll be sure to make my way down to the beach as often as I can."

"You'd better!" Boone exclaimed. "I don't know what I'm going to do down there…make new friends maybe. I'm not really known for my ability when it comes to that."

"You made friends with us, didn't you?" Scarlett said, arching an eyebrow.

"You kinda made friends with me, if you remember," Boone laughed. "You made the first move. I'm not the most…outgoing person."

"No way," Scarlett said, shaking her head with laughing denial. "You? _Shy_?"

"Not really…shy," Boone said thoughtfully. "Just not very outgoing. I was always kind of a loner."

"Wow, I really thought you'd be the party type of guy," Scarlett said. "That's surprising!"

"Yeah," Boone laughed. "I get that a lot, actually."

"Well, no wonder!" Scarlett exclaimed. "You're so great…you've _gotta _have a lot of friends."

Boone pretended to think for a moment, then looked at her.

"Well," he said slowly. "There's you. And…Claire. And…oh…no, he hates me. So, yeah, you and Claire. Everyone else probably wouldn't care if I just went off and died."

"Boone," Scarlett said gently, with a smile. "_Everyone _would care if you died."

"I'm sure I can find at least one man down on the beach that would have to disagree," Boone retorted, giving Scarlett a suggestive look.

"Not you too," Scarlett groaned.

"Well, you can't tell me you don't feel _something_," Boone said quickly. "Not even a little something? You can tell me, you know."

"I know," Scarlett laughed. "And I'm telling the truth!"

Boone gave her a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word. She shoved him playfully. Up ahead, Shannon kept walking with her face turned straight forward, as if she didn't want to be associated with them.

"I'm glad," he said, though his tone gave away his disbelief. "He's an asshole."

"Well, yeah…but…"

She trailed off into a short laugh as Boone gave her a look.

"I think Claire might have something there," he said, grinning. Scarlett grinned in return, and shook her head.

"No," she said, laughing. "She doesn't!"

"Okay, Scarlett," Boone retorted sarcastically. "Whatever you say."

Scarlett laughed, and the three of them continued walking towards the beach.

* * *

_"You want anything, miss?"_

_"Oh…um…sorry," Scarlett laughed, looking up at the waitress. "Um…just some blueberry pancakes please."_

_"All right," the woman said in a thick Australian accent. "Anything to drink?"_

_"Oh! Right," Scarlett said. "Orange juice. Please."_

_"Okay, right away," the woman said, smiling at Scarlett. Scarlett smiled in return and went back to studying the counter. _

_She heard someone sit on the stool next to her, but she didn't look up. She just stared down at the counter sadly. The person next to her shifted, and she could tell they were staring at her. Slowly, so slowly, she looked up._

_"Tag."_

_She gasped in horror. The brown hair, the scar, the well-pressed suit…it was exactly like the day she had left him. _

_"Anthony…" she said with horror. He laughed hollowly. _

_"That's right darlin'. It's me. What you havin' this mornin'? Pancakes?"_

_Scarlett got up to leave, but Anthony grabbed her arm. _

_"Why don't you sit down and eat your food," he said, his tone suddenly no longer playful. Scarlett tried to pull away. "I ain't kidding sweet-cheeks."_

_Scarlett sat back down numbly. She knew she could call for help, but she didn't. Why? Why wouldn't she just open her mouth and ask for some help? How hard would that be?_

_"There you go, honey," the woman at the diner said. _

_"Thank you, Scarlett said sadly. With Anthony watching, she took a bite of the food that she suddenly had no appetite for.

* * *

_

Shannon, Boone, and Scarlett reached the beach at last.

"Boone, can you help me over here?" Shannon asked. Boone glanced at Scarlett.

"It's okay," Scarlett said. "I have to go do something anyway."

"Okay. When you're ready, just come and get me, all right?"

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett said with a smile. "Thanks…Boone."

"No problem," Boone replied, shrugging. Scarlett left him and walked over to her stuff. As far as she could tell by glancing at it; everything was there and untouched. She smiled and started packing.

Once she had gotten all of the stuff into the bags, she got up and started to walk over to where she could see Boone and Shannon arguing. However, she knew that there was something else she had to do. She slowly turned towards Sawyer's shelter and sighed. She would just go check up on him to make sure he was okay. That was it.

She walked towards it with her arms folded across her chest, feeling like her feet were moving without her guidance behind them. In no time, she had reached the shelter and found herself staring down at him. His eyes were closed in sleep, and he looked extremely relaxed. She started too go, but his short laugh stopped her.  
"You didn't really think I was sleeping, did you, Sox?"

She turned back slowly, sighing.  
"Hey, Sawyer," she said. He grinned at her, sitting up.

"What brings you down here to the beach? I heard you and the pregnant chick were moving up to the caves with Jacko. Here, sit down."

Scarlett sat down in the airplane seat beside him and shrugged.

"Yeah," she said. "We're moving to the caves. I just came down to get my stuff and decided to see how you're doing while I was at it."

"How sweet," Sawyer laughed. Scarlett smiled as well slightly, but then she grew serious.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked, noticing the bandages on his arm and hands.

"Do what, Sox?" Sawyer asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Pretend that you had the inhalers even though you didn't."

Sawyer sighed.

"So is that all you came here for, Sox?"

"Well, I'm coming here to see how you're doing…and the reason you may not be doing so well is because of the little inhaler fiasco…so they're kind of connected. Why'd you do it?"

"Hell, I don't know," Sawyer said, but Scarlett had a feeling he wasn't being completely truthful with her. "I thought it would be fun."

"Sawyer…" Scarlett said warningly.

"Anyway, it ended up being a good time because I got to make out with Freckles," he said with a smirk. Scarlett looked at him, her disappointment slowly turning to disgust.

"Someone almost died…just because you wanted to make out with Kate?"

"Hell, I woulda gotten you to do it, but you were at the caves with your little boy toy."

Scarlett glared at him.

"Sawyer…" she said warningly once again. Sawyer just shrugged.

"I call 'em like I see 'em, Sox," he said.

"And _I _try to tell you that there's nothing between Boone and I, but you never listen!"

"That's because I know you're lying to me, darlin'."

Sawyer grinned and Scarlett glared.

"I can't believe that you would do something like that," she said. "Shannon almost died!"

"Yeah, but she woulda almost died whether or not I played my little game. As a matter of fact, she probably _woulda_ died, Sox. Remember the thing about hope? If she had known that her medicine was lost, she just woulda given up."

"You don't know that," Scarlett said after a pause. Sawyer shrugged.

"Maybe not," he said. "But I'd think it's a pretty good guess."

Scarlett just shook her head and stood up to go.

"I have to go move my stuff," she mumbled grumpily. She turned and started to walk away, but suddenly Sawyer's voice stopped her.

"Hey."

She turned and looked at him, surprised.

"Thanks for stoppin' by, Sox."

"Yeah," she said. "Anytime."

He grinned and her, and she grinned at him.

"Ya know you can come by here anytime. I ain't gonna mind."

Scarlett knew that that was the closest to an apology she was ever going to get from Sawyer. She nodded and smiled thoughtfully.

"Thanks," she said. "I will."

"See you around," Sawyer said with a small wave.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, grinning. "Later."

She walked out of the tent with a smile on her face. She still wasn't sure if she was still mad or not, but she felt a lot better than she had when she went in there. At least she didn't want to completely strangle him anymore. That was a step in the right direction. Or, it could be the wrong direction. She wasn't exactly sure which.

* * *

Sawyer sat in his seat after she left, closing his eyes and grinning slightly. He knew that Scarlett was worried. He was glad. She was a good woman. It made him wonder what attracted her to him in the first place. How she had managed to see through his rough, mean shell was beyond his comprehension. He had managed to scare most everybody off, but there she was; still trying.

And she wasn't the only one. Though he had been a complete asshole to Kate from the beginning, she still tried. She still spent her time talking to him and listening to what he had to say. Not many people did that. And those few people were the people that were allowed to see James. Not Sawyer. James.

Scarlett and Kate. Decisions, decisions. Sawyer smiled to himself. At least neither was a bad choice. There was no way he could lose this one.

* * *

**Next chapter: **

_(Boone walks up in jeans and a t-shirt)_

**Scarlett: **Hey, about time you changed!

_(They're getting ready to walk back up to the caves) _

**Scarlett: **You knew about him and Kate?

**Boone: **Yeah. Shannon found out. Also…Sayid's gone.

_(They walk through the woods, laughing and talking. Boone stops and holds up a hand,)_

**Boone: **Shh? Did you hear that?

_(There's a loud rustling noise in the bushes.)_

**Scarlett: **Yeah…let's go.

_(Boone starts to walk towards it.)_

**Scarlett: **Boone!

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	26. Solitary Part 2

Wow…I haven't updated in a week. Time is really flying by SO fast! Sorry about that!

Did anyone see the new British promo for Season 1 of Lost? It's absolutely adorable! It's got all the couples from season 1 dancing in Titanic-like clothes, and they're all saying stuff about secrets and how one of them is a saint, sinner, martyr (BOONE!), etc. It's got Jack/Kate, Kate/Sawyer, Sun/Jin, Shannon/Sayid…and then, in the most random coupling I've ever seen, BOONE and CLAIRE! Even though I was surprised for a little bit, they are the CUTEST things I've ever seen! They were easily the cutest couple in there, though my C/C senses were tingling. (Before the C/C ship came about, I used to think that Boone and Claire would be a really cute pair, after he gave her the water in White Rabbit. So that was cute.)

Anyway, that's my little thing for the day. I thought it was cute.

**Chrizz: **Oh, Sawyer is SUCH a bastard in that part. I wrote it like that because, honestly, I thought that was what was probably going through his head. I LOVE Evanescence AND Within Temptation, even though I haven't gotten any of WT's CDs yet. (I have like…every Evanescence song written, hahaha). I made a Boone/Shannon songvid to Memories by WT. I think I like Evanescence better too, since I discovered the, first, and they'll always have a special little place in my heart! Haha! Thanks for the revew!

**Paige03: **Yeah, Boone needs to stand up to that woman! He's too sweet a guy to be pushed around by her! Yeah, Scarlett WILL find out about Boone and Shannon eventually. I'd say you were probably right about eh awkward too! Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Awww, thanks! I hope it can get better! I really hope it will! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Yay! The hooking up…well, let's just say not quite yet. Sawyer was being pretty nice in the chapter, and will continue to be nice. Yay for updates on your story! Hahaha! Thanks for the review!

**ShalBrenfan: **Haha, I'm so obsessive with printing them out. I made cover pages for the chapters, and the stories have pictures in them. It's completely and utterly obsessed; I'm telling you. And YES Shannon and Sayd need to STAY AWAY from each other! Boone needs to come back, and him and Shannon need to get back together. Haha, I wanted to write a story when Boone comes back to life too, but I have this one to work on, so I don't really get the chance. I think you should write the Lost one! Well…that might bt biased cus I'm obsessed with Lost… Oh well!

Rrrrr, the favorite characters dying. It's been a curse for a while for me, now. I'm getting really irritated with it. First it was Lancelot in King Arthur, and then it just went downhill. Two TV shows, (24 and Lost), and in like…every movie I watch! I added another to the list yesterday, from Alien Vs Predator. That sucked! Hahaha! All the stuff we have in common is actually pretty freaky! Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **I'm tired too! But…well, I just woke up, so that's a given! Ooo, Europe! I hope you had fun! I chose 'conning' in that sentence because of what Shannon did to Boone to con him out of his mother's money. It was kind of like a little hint to what she did to him. I'm glad you couldn't wait for more! Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Whoo-hoo! Boone is awesome, hahaha. I was so happy writing that, because I kind of dislike Shannon. Claire and Boone are very cute as friends. I love them! Haha. Hehe, I can't tell you who she hooks up with, but we are getting closer…Thanks for the review!

**Pink Hardcore: **Sawyer can be a cocky bastard, yes. Yeah, Charlie seems to not like Boone, and that's not going to go away any time soon. It is rather cute. Three weeks! Where are you going? But that's sad you'll be gone. I'll miss you! Have fun! Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Haha, Boone really needs to get Shannon off his back. She can be such a bitch (though I did gain some respect for her in The Greater Good when she went after Locke. Because, honestly, I would have done the exact same thing). I think she should have died in Hearts and Minds too. That would have ruled. Haha, Sawyer was being sweet in this chapter, which was good because I don't like writing him as an asshole! Oooh, the Stand is a GREAT book. It became one of my favorites. It's absolutely enormous, but it's an amazing read. I don't really like that much Stephen King, but it was just brilliant. Thanks for the review!

**Dark Syrinx: **You're only on chapter 10, but you're catching up! Haha, Scarlett and Boone get very cozy, huh? Yeah, I have weird dreams too. In fact, I just had one last night, haha, but hers are WAY weirder. Yeah…the connections thing kind of died for a while, but it will come back. I have several plans for it. Thanks for the review!

**Home And Charmed: **Yeah, the abuse thing, like most of the plots in my story, just came to me as I was writing. I really just type and let my fingers do the work, hahaha. Sawyer is so fun to write, because you can just picture that southern accent in your head. It's great! Thanks for the review!

**MyDearDelirious: **Wow, you DID? That's wicked awesome! I'd love to see it sometime. That sounds wonderful! I'm glad you love the fic, and thanks so much for the review and the kind words.

13 reviews! Holy crap, I love you guys!

* * *

**Solitary (2): **Moving

Scarlett walked up to her shelter and looked around at her stuff. It was all pretty much packed. It wasn't that much actually. She didn't really need Boone's help…

Just as she was thinking about just carrying the stuff by herself, she spotted Boone walking over to help. He had found the time to change his clothes, and was wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt with something written in Chinese on it. He smiled at her.

"Hey," she said. "About time you changed."

Boone shrugged and smirked.

"I was starting to get really gross," he said.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Scarlett retorted sarcastically. "We're all gross."

"Not anymore," Boone laughed.

"True," Scarlett said. "You do look pretty clean. Did you wash your hair too?"

"Yeah," Boone replied, running a hand through his hair and smiling. "I didn't have any shampoo, but that Korean lady gave Shannon this cool stuff that works pretty much like shampoo, so that was good."

"Really?" Scarlett asked. "I'll have to try that out. I'll see if I can get her to give me some later."

"Who, The Korean lady or Shannon?" Boone asked.

"Sun," Scarlett laughed. "The Korean lady. Most definitely."

"Good," Boone replied with a half-smirk. "Because I highly doubt Shannon would be willing to give you any of hers. I practically had to beat it out of her to get mine!"

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Scarlett laughed. Boone laughed as well.

"So," he said. "What do you want me to carry for you?"

"Well, it's not that much…I think I can manage it…"

Boone gave an incredulous laugh.

"Scarlett, if you carried all that, you wouldn't make it to the caves. You'd pass out halfway there."

"I'm not _Shannon_," Scarlett laughed. "I think I'd be able to do it…"

"But it would be so much easier if I could just help you, and I will."

"I just don't want you to have to go all the way up to the caves and then come back down here to the beach."

"Like I said last night…there's nothing for me to do here. I'm going to be bored out of my mind for the next…whatever days. All I've got down here now is Shannon and….Stephanie."

He made a face, and Scarlett laughed.

"Why don't you just move up to the caves and leave Shannon behind?" she suggested. "She'd move after you eventually just because she can't do anything on her own."

"Yeah," Boone said thoughtfully. "But I really just don't want to leave her, you know? She's not the most competent person in the world."

"Hmm," Scarlett murmured. She looked down at the ground, then gave a little laugh. "Well, I'll come down here and visit you as often as I can."

"And when you can't, I'll come visit you," Boone replied with a smile, giving her a light shove. She shoved him back decidedly harder, and he took a half-step back, regaining his balance. "Come on," he laughed, picking up one of her bags. Scarlett noticed that he took the heaviest one. Then, he bent down and grabbed the lightest one. Scarlett shook her head and smiled and bent down to grab the third bag, which held her camera and all of her other stuff like makeup and her hair brushes, which she hadn't used since they crashed.

"Are you sure you can handle all that?" She asked him as they started to walk towards the path to the caves.

"Yeah," Boone laughed. "It's not that heavy."

Scarlett gave him a look.

"Liar," she said.

"Okay, so it's a little heavy," Boone said. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

"You sound like Sawyer," Scarlett laughed. Boone looked at her and made a face.

"Please never say that again," he said. Scarlett laughed. There was a short silence before Boone broke it with the inevitable. "So…I saw that you went to Sawyer's tent."

"Yeah," Scarlett said simply. "I did."

"What did he have to say?" Boone asked, looking at the ground and trying had to pretend that he didn't really care.

"Lots of stuff that didn't make much sense," Scarlett replied with a shrug. "I think he's managed to justify the incident in his mind by thinking that if he just told everyone about not having the inhalers, then Shannon would have lost hope, and she would have died."

Boone made a face.

"Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. "I'm sure that he was thinking that at the time."

"Yeah, exactly what I was thinking," Scarlett replied.

"He was probably just thinking about making out with Kate," Boone continued. "And then when he realized how badly he'd screwed up, he formulated a bullshit story like that so no one would be pissed off at him."

"You knew about him and Kate?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Boone said, making a face. "Shannon found out. Don't ask me how. I stopped asking that question long ago. Also…Sayid's gone."

"What?" Scarlett asked freezing in place, automatically assuming that gone meant dead. Boone stopped moving as well.

"He felt so bad about what he did to Sawyer that he took off yesterday down the beach. He said he was going to go explore the island."

"But…why would he _do _that?" Scarlett asked incredulously, though she felt some relief that he was at least still alive. "He knows what's out there!"

"Yeah," Boone said, shrugging. "I personally wouldn't enjoy it too much, but who knows. I'm not him. Maybe it's just something he feels he has to do."

Scarlett nodded thoughtfully and looked at the ground sadly.

"I hope he's okay," she said. Boone nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "Me too."

Scarlett smiled sadly and started moving again. There was a long, awkward silence. Then, Boone looked at her.

"How've you been doing?" he asked. "I mean…I know we like…just talked about this this morning, but you seemed really upset then. I just…I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it some more."

"I'm no worse off than anyone else," Scarlett replied with an uneasy laugh.

"What about your ankle?" Boone asked. "You seemed fine two days ago when dragging me up here…but how is it?"

"Much better," Scarlett said quickly. "I really can't even feel it anymore."

Boone gave her a skeptical look and she grinned, looking away.

"Yeah, right," he laughed. He shoved her with his shoulder, and she shoved him back.

"Okay, so I feel it a little bit. Nothing I can't handle."

Boone laughed. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Shh," he said quickly, holding up a hand and turning to his right. "Did you hear that?"

Scarlett's heart skipped a beat. She turned to the right as well, looking over his shoulder nervously.

"No," she squeaked. "What was it?"

"I don't know," he said, making the Wiggly Eyebrow Face and stepping forward slowly. Scarlett's eyes widened and she grabbed his arm.

"Boone!" she exclaimed in a hoarse voice. "Don't go _towards _it."

Then she heard it. There was something rustling in the trees. It sounded big.

"You heard that, right?" Boone asked nervously, stepping in front of her. Scarlett nodded and started walking backwards, pulling him with her.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's go."

Suddenly, the thing emerged. With laughing relief, they saw that it was just a man. Scarlett hadn't met him before, but she was pretty sure she had seen him at the caves the previous night.

"Hi," he said, smiling at him. As Scarlett and Boone smiled at each other with their hearts still beating wildly from fear, Locke exited the trees after the other man.

"Hello," he said, smiling at the both of them. "We heard you two through the woods and thought we'd have a little fun scaring you." He looked them both over and gave a little laugh. "Looks like it worked."

Boone laughed incredulously.

"No kidding," he said. Scarlett finally stepped away from behind him.

"Yeah," she said, still having trouble catching her breath. She turned to the man who had emerged from the trees with Locke. "I don't think we've met. I'm Scarlett Meyers."

"Ethan," the other man said as they shook hands. "Ethan Rom. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ethan Rom," Scarlett replied.

"I'm Boone Carlisle," Boone said with a small smile, sticking out his hand. Ethan took it.

"It's nice to meet you both," he said.

"We should probably get back to hunting," Locke said, grinning.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling as well. "It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Locke."

"It was nice seeing you as well," Locke replied with a smile. "I'll be seeing you later."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Bye."

"Bye," Boone said as well.

"Later," Ethan said, waving. Then, together, he and Locke moved off into the woods.

For a few moments, Scarlett and Boone just stood there, looking at the trees where Locke and his new friend had vanished.

"Well," Scarlett said to break the silence. "That was…interesting."

"Yeah," Boone said, arching an eyebrow as he turned to her. "You okay?"

"Yes!" Scarlett exclaimed, laughing. "You're always asking me that! I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

"I'm a worried person naturally," Boone retorted. "I can't help but be worried."

Scarlett grinned and shook her head as they both started walking simultaneously.

"You seem it," she said after a pause. "Worried. A lot."

"Yeah," Boone laughed. "Though you do look a little pale."

"Yeah, well, I just had the shit scared out of me. You're not looking too healthy yourself right now."

"That was scary," Boone exclaimed. "You heard it! It did _not _sound like two guys walking through the woods."

"Yeah, I know," Scarlett said sarcastically. "I was the one digging my fingernails into your arm, remember?"

"Yeah," Boone said, looking over his shoulder and trying to see if she had left any marks. She had. Three crescent lines on his left shoulder stood out an angry red against the healthy tan. "And it hurts."

"Sorry," Scarlett said bashfully. "I didn't mean to."

"I know," Boone laughed. "Trust me, I was just as scared as that."

"Good," Scarlett retorted. "At least I know I'm not the only one."

She laughed and shook her head.

"Yeah," Boone replied. "Trust me. You're not."

Scarlett sighed and pulled the strap of the bag higher up on her shoulder uncomfortably.

"This walk is murder," she laughed. "It's really annoying."

"Yeah," Boone said with a laugh. "I don't mind it unless I happen to have heavy stuff with me."

"I could take one of the bags, you know. If…"

"No, I'm good," Boone interrupted quickly. "It's okay."

"Okay," Scarlett said slowly. "Are you sure?"

"Completely positive," Boone replied with a smile.

"They _are _my bags, Scarlett said. "You now, I _could _do some carrying or something. It's kinda twisted that they're _my _bags, and I've only got one."

"Nah, it's all right," Boone replied with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to carrying around heavy stuff for Shannon. It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Scarlett asked reluctantly. Boone laughed.

"Now you're sounding like me with the worrying," he said. "I'm sure. I'm fine."

"Okay," Scarlett laughed. "If you insist."

A companionable silence fell over them and they walked on towards the caves.

* * *

When Scarlett and Boone reached the caves, laughing and still talking about Locke and Ethan scaring them, Claire and Charlie were sitting at Claire's stuff, talking quietly. When they heard the laughter of the other two, they looked up.

"Great," Charlie muttered sarcastically. "It's the water thief."

"Charlie," Claire said, giving him a look. "That was so long ago."

"Claire, we haven't even been here long enough to call it 'so long'. It was only a few days ago. That jerk almost cost you your _life_."

"He's apologized enough for it."

"Not to you."

"I know he's sorry."

Claire looked at Charlie pointedly.

"How do you know he's sorry?" Charlie muttered darkly in reply. "What, did Scarlett tell you?"

"No," Claire said simply. "She didn't. Charlie, if you don't remember, you caught him trying to give me water."

Charlie fell silent for a moment, apparently thinking of something to say to that.

"Well, yeah," he said slowly. "But, bloody hell, Claire, he _stole _the _only _water we had left! You almost _died _because of him. Remember that, Claire."

"I think what he did was smart. I mean…you _know_ people would have panicked if they discovered that the water was almost gone. And you _know_ that there would have ended up being a huge fight for it. I really think he did the right thing in taking it to protect it. And he _did _try to give me water, but you stopped him. Remember _that_, Charlie."

She gave him a harsh look, and he looked away, his features clouding over with bitterness.

"Right," he said. "I remember that, Claire." He looked up at her, his eyes hard and cold. "But I also remember that you could have died because of him…and then everything else just doesn't matter." As Scarlett and Boone drew closer, he stood up. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later."

"Charlie…" Claire began sadly.

"Forget it. It's cool."

He gave her a smile that didn't come close to reaching his eyes, and walked away in the opposite direction of the two approaching castaways. Boone bit his lip and looked at Scarlett, saying something under his breath.

"Well, I don't know _what's _wrong with Charlie," Scarlett replied; her words a little louder than Boone had been speaking. "Don't worry. No one else blames you for it."

"Yes they do," Boone replied, wrinkling his nose. "I can tell. They all avoid me like I'm insane."

They reached Claire at last, and Scarlett put down her bag before helping Boone untangle the two bags he had been carrying.

"How did you manage that?" she asked with a laugh, puzzling out the maze that was the straps.

"I don't know," Boone replied with a small, slightly bashful grin.

"If you're insane," Scarlett continued easily. "Then I think you're better off, because those who are supposedly sane are some fucked up people."

Boone laughed and shook his head as Scarlett managed to untangle the stuff, and she set the first bag down gently.

"Glad to know _you _still like me," he said bitterly.

"I still like you too, Boone," Claire said with a smile. Boone's attitude softened as he looked at her.

"Thanks, Claire," he said gently.

"You don't have to head right down to the beach, do you?" Scarlett asked, taking the other bag off of Boone's shoulders.

"No," Boone said quickly. "And I'm not planning on it!"

"Good!" Scarlett exclaimed, laughing delightfully. "More time with us."

"We're like the three Musketeers," Claire laughed.

"Or the Fantastic Four, with Charlie," Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," Claire said, making a face. "Though I'm pretty sure that Charlie isn't exactly feeling the four of us right now."

"See?" Boone said pointedly, looking at Scarlett smugly. "I _told _you that guy hated me!"

"He doesn't _hate _you," Scarlett protested. "At least…I don't think he does. He's just not over that water thing yet. He'll get there eventually."

Claire just nodded slowly. She wasn't sure she believed that herself. Charlie _had _been pretty mad…"

"Yeah," she said instead; deciding to save poor Boone from feeling any worse about himself. "Yeah, he will."

She certainly hoped that Charlie didn't turn it into something huge that would escalate completely out of control. She had a feeling he was the kind of guy who would let something like that happen. It wasn't that she hated him for it or anything…it was just that she felt like he shouldn't be so mad…she just wanted them to all be friends again.

"Well, if he doesn't, I couldn't really blame him," Boone said bitterly, sitting down in front of Claire. Scarlett sat beside him, concern clouding her features.

"Don't start, that, Boone," she said gently, as if she were talking to a very small child, or a highly unstable person. Claire decided that it was a wise choice, considering that Boone certainly _seemed _highly unstable at times. "You can't keep beating yourself up over it. It was the right thing to do."

"Claire could have died," the other man mumbled in reply, looking studiously at the ground. He sounded robotic, as if he had heard that line so many times that it just automatically came out of his mouth when the situation for it presented itself.

"But you tried to give me water," Claire said gently. "Don't worry about it. I forgive you, and if Charlie doesn't, then that's his own problem."

"But everyone else…"

"Who _cares _about everyone else?" Scarlett asked comfortingly, putting a hand on his back and looking at him urgently. "Besides…everyone else can just go to hell as far as I'm concerned for treating you like that."

Boone looked up at her with surprise, and Claire watched them and marveled at their ignorance. How could they be sitting so close; so near to one another, with the tension radiating, and not notice a thing? Claire could certainly sense it. She watched them curiously, watching their eyes, seeing if there was even a glimmer of recognition in there…but there was nothing. She shook her head and tried to hide a smile. They'd realize it in time.

"Yeah, well you're different," Boone said with a humorless smirk. Scarlett shook her head, smirking as well.

"Not so much different as caring," she said pointedly. Boone laughed bitterly.

"Yeah. That's the only reason why you're still talking to me, right?" he asked. Scarlett's eyes widened in shock, and she stared at him as if he had just given her horrible news.

"What?" she asked, her voice squeaking with the denial in her tone. "No! That's not it at all!"

She moved even closer to Boone, pulling him into a fierce hug. He looked at Claire with surprise. Claire just smiled.

"Boone, don't ever think that again, okay?" Scarlett asked, pushing him away to arm's length. "Don't _ever_ think anything like that. You are a wonderful person and easily one of my closest friends out here. Don't ever think that you're anything less than what you are. Trust me. It's not the way to go."

She looked at Boone, and he looked at her, and with that simple glance, more understanding was reached between them than hours of conversation could ever achieve.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

_(Shannon and Boone sit near their stuff at the beach)_

**Shannon: **I'm absolutely miserable out here!

**Boone: **And I bet you're the only one.

**Shannon: **I'm the only one who has to put up with _you_. Me and Scarlett. And, if you noticed, she doesn't seem too happy that often either.

_(Boone stares at Shannon, obviously hurt. Cut to Sawyer and Scarlett in Sawyer's tent.)_

**Sawyer: **Well, look who it is. Wasn't expectin' you here for at least another day or so. I know how long that walk to the beach is.

**Scarlett: **Yeah, well, I woke up early and had nothing to do. I figured a walk was just what I needed to clear my head.

_(Sawyer smirks)_

**Sawyer:**Yeah…one hell of a walk.

_(They smile at each other.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway. **


	27. Solitary Part 3

Weeeee, update! It's about time! Me and my laziness just won't let me do anything productive! I pretty much sit around all day, sometimes going out…but pretty much just sleeping and eating! I love summer!

Haha, anyway…I don't think I have a little rant today. I usually do, too. Hmmmm…I don't know what to rant about! Oh well

Haha, just kidding! I have a rant! I thought of one after responding to Hekate-Trivia's comment about scary Ethan!

Okay, so I was going to my sister's All Star softball game (me and my sister are pretty much best friends. She plays on my 18 and under team too, and I go to all her games) and one of her coaches, who's like…obsessed with me and my sister, walks up to me and told me that he needed me to umpire a 10 and under game cus the girl who was supposed to do it cancelled at the last minute. Now…I was just the field ump, so I called people out at first base and second base, etc, but I have NEVER umpired in my LIFE.

So I was completely terrified, and I get to the front field where my sort-of-I-guess-friend Kasey was waiting, cus she was the home ump. So she was explaining what to do, and the coach from the other team walks up and says "Hi!" And I noticed that he looked a little bit like William Mapothor (I, surprisingly, wasn't really thinking 'Lost' at this point, because I had watched The Grudge the night before, and Ethan's in that too, so I was thinking more about that)

And OH MY GOD he sounded EXACTLY like Ethan! And then he smiled, and he had the same kind of friendly, yet slightly creepy, smile. I was trying SO hard not to A, laugh; or B, run away screaming.

Okay…that's my scary experience. I hope NOTHING like that EVER happens to me AGAIN!

Though last chapter was pretty much all Scroone, this one's got a lot of Scrawyer in it for the Scrawyer fans.

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Hahaha, how was camping? I have the same problem with my brothers and sisters. They like to take the computers from me allll the time. Ick! Yeah, the Claire-Booneness could be because of that, but then they had Shannon and Sayid too, and that doesn't happen until WAY after C/C starts. Some people were saying that it's a hint that Claire dies. I certainly hope not! Anyway, thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Haha, I find that though at the beginning of the story, most people were Scrawyer fans, most of the reviewers now are Scroone fans! Either that, or they're undecided. About Claire and Boone…I thought, at the very beginning, that they would be majorly cute. And, as cute as Charlie and Claire are, I still think that they'd have amazing chemistry. Still a C/C shipper all the way though! Haha, thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Hahaha, I type too fast for my own good. Sometimes I insert random quotations. Actually, I do it a lot! (I love the long review, by the way. I was so happy.) Haha, who knows what's in store for Scarlett and her two boy toys. There's a lot coming up, but I think you'll see it moving in one direction pretty soon. It becomes blatantly obvious in a few episodes who Scarlett has a thing for. Of course, then there's the question of whether or not that guy has a thing in return. Poor Scarlett gets very confused, lol.

Yeah, Charlie really does need to get over the water thing. Poor Boone was just trying to help. Charlie definitely seems like the kind of guy who would hold a grudge for a loooong time, and I noticed that he and Boone never really hit it off after that, so I just decided that Charlie would still be endlessly pissed about the water.

Five countries in nine days? Holy crap! What countries?

Haha, yeah, Boone is wicked sweet. I really, REALLY wish I had a guy as caring as him. He's absolutely adorable to the both of them. And about Shannon, who knows what happens with that. Oh wait…I do! Hahaha, anyway…I'm having waaay too much fun replying to this review.

I don't like Shannon very much either, or…I didn't until Boone died.  
I kinda gained some likage for her once she shot Locke. I was pretty pissed at Locke too, and if I were in her position, I probably would have done the same thing…only I wouldn't have missed!

You think that Charlie would get the hint that if the girl who almost died isn't mad, then he should get over the whole water thing too, huh? Guess he's not one to take a hint!

Lol, I don't know that song. Hopefully it's out of your head by now, or else you should get that checked out. That might be a problem.

I don't like Danielle either. She reminds me of my sister's French teacher, only less scary. She's cool and all, but she's freaky and if I was on the island, I'd be terrified of her.

Haha, Ethan scares me too (as seen by my rant above). He's actually kind of friendly in this story. At least…remotely, for a little bit. This isn't the last Scarlett will see of him.

Thanks for the massively long review! That made my day!

**Saraiyu: **Yeah, I wanted them together too. It escapes me how the man who is clearly the hottest on the island has no love interest other than his sister. Ooh, and the trailer! I saw that too! I was so excited! I think I almost cried, cus I'm just a dork like that! Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Hahaha, when Do No Harm comes around…let's just say it's going to be…um…emotional. Very. Emotional. For Scarlett, at least. Others too, of course. I'm not really looking forward to writing it, lol. Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like the story.

**WhatsGoingOn: **Haha, yeah, that chapter was pretty much all Scroone, huh? And Charlie…well, let's just say that he's good at holding a grudge. Like…really good. Your chapter update was soo good, as I told you in your review! Very scary, but good! Thanks for the review, and update yours soon!

**DarkSyrinx: **You're catching up! Chapter eleven! Walt and Scarlett are very cute, hahaha. (Ironic that there's more in this chapter!) Thanks for the review, and catch up soon!

**Miss Dior: **Yeah, Shannon kind of is a bitch. She needs to get over herself! Hahaha. Boone and Claire really were cute, no matter how random they were! I want another promo too! That would be cool! Thanks for the review!

And heeeerrreee we go!

* * *

**Solitary (3): **Not A Nice Guy

_Scarlett stood in front of her apartment, a grocery bag under each arm. Carol stood beside her, chatting amiably about pretty much nothing. Carol stuck the keys in the door and turned the doorknob, still talking. Scarlett just stared ahead of her numbly. The door opened. Scarlett saw him. _

_Stephen. _

_In her apartment._

_Carol gasped with surprise, laughing with relief when she saw who it was. Scarlett smiled and ran to him, practically dropping the bags on the counter. _

_"Stephen!" she exclaimed. "I thought you were gone for another week!"_

_"I didn't want to be there anymore," Stephen replied with a small smile. _

"You miss me?" Scarlett asked with a happy smile; trying to act casual but ending up looking like a kid on Christmas.

_"I had stuff to do back here," Stephen replied, to Scarlett's dismay. She kept the smile on her face, though inwardly, she felt the questions arise. _

_What stuff? Why didn't he miss her? And if he _had_ missed her, then why didn't he just say it? Didn't he love her? He did love her, didn't he?_

_"Oh, okay," she said gently. _

_"Hey," Stephen said to Carol, who seemed oblivious to Scarlett's earth shattering conversation with her boyfriend._

_"Hey," she replied. "You scared me, man."_

_"Yeah," Stephen said. "I was going for the element of surprise, you know?"_

_He pulled Scarlett close to him by draping his arm across her shoulders and pulling her in. It was like he was reeling in a fish. Scarlett just hoped she wasn't just another fish to him. Another catch. Another prize. _

_The self-doubt growing, she tried to have a good time, but she knew it wasn't going to happen.

* * *

_

It was getting dark when Boone finally made it back to the beach. Tired and in a bad mood for no particular reason, he sat down wordlessly next to Shannon.

"What's up your ass?" she spat at him. "Don't tell me you got into another fight with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Boone responded automatically.

"Yeah, right," Shannon laughed. "You only walked all the way up to the caves with her stuff and then stayed there the entire day with her. _So_ not a girlfriend."

"There's such thing as just having friends of the opposite sex, you know," Boone retorted. "I'm sorry I don't sleep with everything on two legs."

"Yeah, right, like you _don't_," Shannon laughed.

"I don't know what you might be thinking about me, Shan, but I'm not like you."

"Then how come every time I see you, you're with a different girl?"

"My girlfriends don't last long," Boone said hollowly.

"Yeah, and why is that? You drop them after a quick fuck?"

"You know what, I don't need this," Boone growled, glaring at Shannon. "Why don't you go be a smug little bitch somewhere else?"

"Smug little bitch? Why would I be a smug little bitch? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not _smug _about anything. I'm absolutely _miserable_ out here!"

"And I bet you're the only one," Boone retorted sarcastically.

"I'm the only one who has to put up with _you_," Shannon shot back. "Me and Scarlett. And, if you noticed, _she _doesn't seem too happy that often either."

She could tell that she hit a nerve by the way his shoulders flinched, as if she had dealt him a blow in the back. He didn't look at her. He just looked straight ahead, trying to pretend that she hadn't said anything; trying to pretend that he didn't see her smug expression out of the corner of his eye.

"That's what I thought," she said with venom. "Not so mighty now, are we?"

Boone still didn't answer. The fun was gone for Shannon, and she slumped over, running her fingers through the sand lazily, bored once again.

* * *

Scarlett and Claire sat side-by-side, writing in their diaries together. Charlie was no where to be found, and almost everyone else was settling down to sleep. It was another day without rescue, and Scarlett was finding herself starting to call the caves 'home'. It frightened her, yet she couldn't be happier about it.

"Hey, Scarlett?"

"Yeah?"

Claire put down the diary slowly.

"You wanna…talk?"

"Yeah, sure. About what?"

Scarlett closed her book and put it down as well.

"About us. About our lives. We've never talked about it before, you know? I mean…you're easily my closest friend out here…but I don't know anything about _you_."

"Oh," Scarlett said, making a face. "Yeah, I don't really know anything about you either."

"Yeah. So…let's talk."

Scarlett nodded and smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's talk."

Late into the night, Scarlett and Claire talked about their favorite foods and the movies they could watch over and over without ever getting bored. They discussed music and television, and what dream cars they never got to own. Neither of them felt the need to talk about the bad stuff. Neither of them wanted to talk about it, and both of them understood.

* * *

Scarlett lay awake long after Claire had gone to bed, staring at nothing. She heard someone moving towards her. She looked up. It was Walt, sans Vincent for once.

"Hey, Scarlett," he said shyly. Scarlett sat up, grinning.

"Hey, pal," she said. "What's up?"

"I couldn't sleep and saw that you couldn't either, so I came over," Walt replied with childlike innocence. "Why aren't you sleeping? You thinkin' about stuff?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, grinning.

"I see you a lot, just sitting there and staring into space. My dad says you probably had a rough time or something. He says that he does it too."

"I'm sure he does. Your father seems like a smart man."

"Yeah," Walt said, shrugging. "I guess he is." There was a pause. "I'm sorry about Joanna."

Scarlett smiled at him sadly.

"I mean…" Walt continued. "I know that was a while ago, but I felt really bad about it."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" Scarlett asked with a forced smile and a playful shove for the boy.

"Yeah," Walt replied honestly. Scarlett smiled at him, pleased and surprised. "I didn't know what to say to you. My dad said that 'sorry about Joanna' would probably be the best way to go."

"Your dad certainly seems to know what he's talking about," Scarlett replied. "He's a good guy."

"You think?" Walt asked, and Scarlett clearly saw the hope in his voice. Not only did Walt want to be accepted, but he wanted his dad to be accepted too. Or maybe he just wanted to see if everyone else liked his dad before he could start liking him too. Either way, Scarlett was certainly glad that she could help.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean…look at what he did with the caves. He really helped us out there, you know."

"Yeah," Walt said, nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah. I guess he did. He's okay, I guess. Except when he bosses me around. I don't like that too much."

"Yeah…that's a typical kid, huh?" she said with a smile. "Never want to do what your parents tell you."

"Yeah," Walt said, shrugging. "I guess. It's just that sometimes I feel like he's wrong about stuff."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I know the feeling. Still. I think it's my duty as a technical adult to tell you to listen to him even when it feels like that, because he's probably right."

Walt grinned at her.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay," Scarlett repeated. "Now get off to bed. Who knows. Rescue might be coming tomorrow."

"Yeah," Walt said sarcastically. Scarlett sensed a little bit of nervousness behind that. "Night, Scarlett."

"Night, Walt," Scarlett replied. The boy started to shuffle back towards his sleeping area. "And, hey, Walt?"

"Yeah?" Walt asked, turning around to face her expectantly.

"Thanks for talking to me, pal," Scarlett replied. "It made me feel better."

"You're welcome," Walt replied, smiling, and then he turned and walked away. She smiled and watched him go.

Scarlett didn't want to sleep, but she knew she had to, and she gently closed her eyes.

* * *

_"I'm sorry."_

_"I'm sorry too."_

_Scarlett opened her eyes, listening to the voices whispering in the wind. _

_"I'm sorry, Scarlett."_

_"I'm sorry, Scarlett."_

_"I'm sorry, Ms. Meyers…"_

_"I'm sorry, Ms. Meyers, Mr. Martin."_

_"I'm sorry, Scarlett. I didn't mean to. It was an accident."_

_The trees swayed above her gently as she lay there, trying not to cry. The wind gently blew through her hair, and she stood up, looking around. Something rustled in the bushes, but she couldn't tell what direction it was coming from._

_"Hey, Sox."_

_She whirled around. Behind her stood Sawyer. He walked across the distance between them, and Scarlett was unsurprised to notice that they were standing in that clearing with the white flowers._

_"Sawyer," Scarlett said with relief; glad that it hadn't been something else that had come out of the woods for her._

_"What are you doing here?" Sawyer asked her. "You know it's dangerous."_

_"Yeah, but…" Scarlett began, but Sawyer silenced her with a soft kiss, pulling her closer. Surprised, she tried to pull back, but his grip became harder, and he pulled her into him until there was not an iota of space between them. _

_Finally, his hands loosened enough on her that she was able to push him away, but when he flung backwards, it was not Sawyer that looked her in the eye, but Boone. _

_"What's going on?" Scarlett asked, unaware that the scene in front of her was a dream. "Boone?"_

_"Come on," Boone said, holding out his hand. "I have something I want to show you." _

_He pulled her hand lightly and gently pulled her into the kiss. It was very easy for her to pull back this time. But it was not Boone who stood looking at her when she opened her eyes. It was Stephen. _

_"So this is what you do?" he asked. "First Sawyer, then Boone. Which are you going to choose, Scarlett? Which are you going to leave me for?"_

_"Stephen…" Scarlett said softly. "I…"_

_"Don't," Stephen replied. Suddenly, Carol stood in his place. "Just…don't."_

_"Carol?" Scarlett said with surprise. "I don't…"_

_"You know what he did to you," Carol said slowly. "And you know that he's never going to change. Four years, Scarlett. For four years he made your life a nightmare. He's never going to stop. You need to get over him."_

_"You make it sound easy," Scarlett said with a small smirk. _

_"It's _not _going to be easy," Carol replied with a sad smile. "But there's someone who can make it easier."_

_"Who?" Scarlett asked. _

_"You know who," Carol responded. "You just have to tell him."_

_"No," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "I don't think so."_

_"I _know _so," Carol replied. "You have to. You know it."_

_"I _can't_," Scarlett whimpered. "You know me, Carol. I can't do this."_

_"Then he'll have to help. _They'll _help."_

_She gestured to where Boone and Sawyer stood watching. _

_"But who do I choose?" Scarlett asked. _

_"You know who to choose," Carol replied. "It's not as hard as you might think."_

_She gently faded into nothing, leaving Boone and Sawyer standing in front of her. Slowly, carefully, Scarlett walked towards her choice…

* * *

_

The next morning, when Scarlett awoke, she was overcome with a sudden urge to go to the beach. After scribbling her dream in her diary, she left a note for Claire and took off, not even really realizing that it was barely even light out, and she was going down to the beach alone.

She managed to get there easy enough, and reached it just as the sun was beginning to fully rise. People were just starting to wake up, and she was glared at by several angry people who claimed that she frightened them by coming out of the woods.

She just ignored them and went off in search of a certain someone who she wanted to talk to. However, she didn't get very far. Kate stopped her.

"Hey," she said, smiling at her. Scarlett smiled back.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

"How've you been doing?" Kate asked. "I heard you and Claire were moving to the caves."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "We've been doing okay. I think I liked most of the people down here better. Don't get me wrong…there's plenty of nice people up there. They're just a little…touchy in the morning."

"Yeah," Kate said, smiling. "I've been told people can be pretty irritable up there. Probably because there's a lot less space."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a laugh. "That's probably it. How've you been holding up?"

"Fine," Kate said, smiling. Scarlett saw right through that smile and gave a sad little smirk.

"That's good," she said. Kate remained smiling.

"Yeah," she said. There was a pause. "I'm assuming that you heard about Sawyer?"

Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

Kate folded her arms across her chest. Scarlett nodded slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "I have."

"What did he say?" Kate asked. Scarlett realized that Kate was wondering if she had heard about their little make-out session.

"I don't know," she said, rather than give Kate the information that she wanted. "I was kind of angry."

"Oh," Kate said, nodding. "Yeah. I can…see why."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "I should probably talk to him again."

"Probably," Kate said. "Yeah. That could be good."

Scarlett tried not to smile as she moved off. She knew where Sawyer would be.

She found him in his shelter, lounging comfortably. When she walked in, he grinned at her.

"Well look who it is," he remarked. "Wasn't expectin' you here for at least another day or so. I know how long that walk to the beach is."

"Yeah, well, I woke up early and had nothing to do," Scarlett replied, shrugging as she folded her arms across her chest in an unconscious imitation of Kate. "I figured a walk was just what I needed to clear my head."

"Yeah," Sawyer said with a smirk. "One hell of a walk."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, grinning.

"You come here for any particular reason, or did you just come to talk?"

"Just to talk," Scarlett responded, shrugging. "Kate said I should, so I did."

"Kate, huh?" Sawyer asked. "Why'd she say you should talk to me?"

"I don't know," Scarlett replied. "She just thought it might be a good idea."

"Yeah, well…" Sawyer trailed off, shrugging. Scarlett smiled at him.

"So how's your arm?" she asked.

"Hurts," Sawyer muttered. Scarlett tried hard not to smile. He looked so much like a sulking child.

"I bet it does," she said. "That's what you get for lying."

Sawyer groaned.

"Now don't be like Jackass and bring that up every two seconds, sweet-cheeks. Let's try to forget that."

"Easy for you to say," Scarlett snorted.

"You forgave Metro when he stole that damn water," Sawyer pointed out.

"Yeah, but he did that for a reason," Scarlett reminded him. Sawyer started to say something, but she gave him a look and continued. "A _good _reason."

Sawyer looked away and gave a huff of a laugh.

"Yeah, true," he said. "But me an' Metro are just two totally different folks."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "You are."

Sawyer glared at her as he sensed the laughter in her voice.

"What the hell's that s'possed to mean?" he asked.

"It means that you're two totally different people. What do you think it means?"

Sawyer just glared and shrugged.

"You can never tell, with you," he said.

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett retorted sarcastically. "You're one to be talking…"

Sawyer shrugged, looking like he was in a bad mood.

"Whatever," he said.

"Why are you always in a bad mood now?" Scarlett asked. "Why don't you just try to be nice around here. It wouldn't kill you."

"It just might," Sawyer replied, clutching something in his hand. Scarlett looked down and saw that he was holding the letter in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"It wasn't killing you before to be nice," Scarlett replied pointedly. "Remember when you came out and sat next to me on the sand and talked to me because you saw that I was crying? Remember Fluffy? Remember all the times you stopped by when I was bored, just to chat? What changed, Sawyer?"

"Nothing changed," Sawyer replied coldly. "You finally just realized that that wasn't the real me…and that this is."

Scarlett shook her head slowly.

"No," she said. "I don't think that's it. I think the nice you is the real you."

"Yeah, well, shows how much you know, don't it?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Scarlett sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know why I bother with you sometimes," she said. "Why can't you just be _nice?_"

"I thought you'da figured that out by now, Sox," Sawyer responded with a humorless grin. "I ain't nice."

"Yeah, wouldn't you like me to think that," Scarlett retorted, then she turned on her heel and walked out of the shelter; not at all surprised when Sawyer didn't say anything to stop her.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

(Scarlett walks down the beach)

**Boone: **Scarlett!

(Scarlett turns around, smiling)

**Scarlett: **Hey!

(Cut to Sawyer's tent. Jack is bandaging his arm.)

**Jack: **I'm here because no one else wants anything to do with you.

(Sawyer laughs)

**Sawyer: **I know two pretty ladies who would say otherwise

(Jack glares at him. Cut to Scarlett and Kate standing on the beach.)

**Kate: **By your expression, I'm going to guess that everything with Sawyer didn't go as well as you'd planned.

**Scarlett: **You could say that. He's just…he's insisting that he's this asshole, when I _know _he's not.

(Cut to Scarlett and Ethan at the golfcourse, talking.)

**Ethan: **Is…um…is Claire your friend?

**Scarlett: **Claire? Yes! My _best _friend at the moment. Really, you should meet her. She's really sweet.

**Ethan: **I'm sure I'll meet her one of these days.

_(He smiles)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	28. Solitary Part 4

Woot! Update Time! I'm very excited about all this! Hehehe!

Writing…I'm almost done with Whatever The Case May Be! And let me tell you that that is the episode where it all becomes apparent that Scarlett's got a thing for….Mr. Blank. Who shall it be? Well, just wait! It's coming soon!

A lot of you read my recent new oneshot fics too, which makes me happy! Did any of you notice the teensy hint in Run, Hide, or Die? It's a little connection to this story, which I actually put in there by mistake! (Oops! Hehe!) I'd advise you not to go looking for it unless you want to be severely spoiled regarding this story (And no, it has nothing to do with who Scarlett chooses! Hahaha!)

Has anyone seen **In The Bedroom**? Cus Ethan's in it, and he's evil and mean and I hate him in that movie too, but he's got blonde hair and a disgusting brown mustache. It's the first thing I ever saw him in, and that's what led me to believe that Ethan was no good from the first time I saw him on Lost. Hehe, just thought it would be cool if someone saw that!

**WhatsGoingOn** showed me how to look at how many hits this story gets (THANKS!). And I was like "WHOA! Hey, that's a lot!" but then I realized…how many people are reading it and not reviewing it? That made me sad! So thanks to all of you who are/have reviewed! Those who haven't…please? I wuuuv reviews!

**Miss Dior: **Oh man, I was really ready to flip out. And one time, I made a bad call, and he came up and was like "I think she was safe" in the really creepy/friendly Ethan voice, and I was seriously ready to scream. I was like "uhh….oh…um…ookayy…."

Yeah, Shannon really is a bitch. She needs to STOP being a bitch, and pronto! I've always felt bad for poor Boone, cus he seems like such a nice guy, but Shannon's just like…a bitch.

Sawyer really DOES need an attitude adjustment, but I love Walt. It's so fun to write him, because he's so easy to picture in your head, saying this stuff. I love that kid! But Sawyer…well, no, I do love Sawyer, hahaha. He's really sweet when he wants to be. He just needs to lighten up and stop being so emo! Him and Jack both (though, as it will become apparent later, I must say that I definitely love Sawyer about a thousand times more.)

Hehe, I woke up at 9am today! That's SO early for me! Oh course, I went to bed at 12 last night, and that's also extremely early. I'm a wicked insomniac, you see, but my friend (The kid that I based Stephen on) wasn't online, and has the only one who has insomnia as bad as me, so there was no one to talk to. He's gonna get it later! As for what I do all day…I either type, go swimming at a neighbors house, hang out with my friends, or play video games. It gets very boring! Hahaha. Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Haha, it freaked me out really bad. I wish someone else could have seen it besides me. The girl I was with didn't watch Lost, and my parents were at my sister's game at the other field. I wanted to be like "hey, anyone watch Lost? Cus this guy is creeping me out!" Oh man, it was soooo bad! Hahaha!

Yeah, Sawyer has very low self-esteem, huh? Poor guy hates himself _so _much that he thinks that everyone else must hate him too! Haha, and yes, Walt is a cutie. I love that kid.

I've been more productive lately…just not with Just Another Castaway! Haha, I just want to get to the hook-up part so bad that I'm losing patience and going on to write other stories which have romantic things in them. I swear, it's that Backstreet Boys CD. It's very…romantic!

Oooh! You're going on vacation! This makes me sad! I'm gonna miss you! I hope you have fun! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Hahaha, I'll drop Scarlett a hint that she should ask you. Poor girl is pretty confused!

Yes, Ethan is a butthead, and a few other choice words! Hahaha! Oooooooo, updates, I love them! Thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Hehehe, you shall have to wait and see who she chooses!

Sawyer needs to stop being a jerk! You're right! You can tell that Scarlett really cares about him, but he just can't see that.

Oh man…Ethan man…now that's a scarring encounter if there ever was one! Especially when I'm obsessed with Lost so much! Hehe, Ethan's actually pretty nice in this chapter. I was like 'aww, hes cute, I like him', and then I remembered who it was…Oh well!

Yeah, poor Claire is right! Poor Scarlett, too. She's gonna have to deal with her best friend being gone. And then there's Charlie! Poor everyone!

Thanks for the review!

**Chrizz: **Hehehe, I'm so tricky! Who knows who she chose, except for me!

Yeah, losing fans is one of the things I'm most afraid of! Cus I don't want to lose fans no matter what! I'm glad you'll still stick around no matter the outcome, though! That gives me hope! Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Hehehe, Scarlett's so oblivious to the fact that Ethan's a raging psychopath serial killer. I can't blame her. He's not the scariest looking person in the world. If fact, he's pretty darn adorable when he smiles! At least…in other movies! Hahaha!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Hahaha, yes, Scarlett is very oblivious! Too friendly for her own good! Maybe you can have a little chat with her and WhatsGoingOn. She has a few choice words for Scarlett too!

I'm glad you like both ships. That way, you won't ditch me if your favorite isn't chosen! That always makes me scared! Hahaha!

Thanks for the review!

**KnightsoftheRoundTable: **Hey! There you are! I'd been wondering where you were! Glad you're back! Hahaha! Also glad you like my chapter setup. If I tried to make them any shorter…I think I'd die! Hahaha!

Hahaha, I was close to calling him Ethan one time. I really wanted to. If he watched Lost, that would be funny….but then he probably would have killed me all creepy-like! Eek! Scary Ethan-man!

Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Holy JESUS! That review made my day! It'll probably take an hour to reply to, so let's get started!

I'm glad you finally figured out what that song was! And OMG, I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yesterday! So good!

That chapter was rather short. I sometimes break them up weird if I want a chapter to end in a certain way. That was one of the cases, apparently! Hahaha!

Wow, sounds like you had quite a trip! That's awesome!

Hahaha, the funny thing was that when I got your review, I was so hyper too, so I was cracking up hysterically. It was like…pretty late, and I had drinken…drunk? At least five sodas, and was COMPLETELY off the wall!

Hehehe, cliffhangers are good in this story! It delays my little choice thingy!

You have a fictionpress story? Oooohhh, I wanna reaaddd! I have some too, but they're all like…depressing, and they're all about one person! Hahaha, I'm a tad obsessive!

Hahaha, I'm the same way! The name Ethan just scares me! One of my friends has a brother named Ethan who's like…seven, and another friend has a brother named Charlie who's four-ish. That always cracks me up! But yes…Ethan man was very scary. I wanted that game to be over FAST, lol.

Awww, poor Boone! She's so mean to him, I know. I don't see why she wouldn't want a guy like him! Who wouldn't? He's sweet and pretty and nice and pretty and sensitive and pretty…..do I WANT to know about the Pepsi!

Yeah, Stephen's a jerk. He just needs to go die right now! Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen, since he's back in LA being a prick there!

Hahaha, I make soooooo many mistakes! I really need to pay more attention. I edit the chapter like…seven times, and still I miss like…everything. I'm so bad at it!

Rrrrr stinking Shannon. I don't like her!

Yeah Claire and Scarlett really did need to talk, so I had them have a little chat about themselves. I thought it was needed!

Awww, I don't like evil Walt in fanfic either! That makes me so sad! He's so cute and adorable and awwww!

Yeah, Scarlett's apologized to _a lot, _especially from Stephen! He's a little rat!

Teehee, I'm not saying anything about Scarlett's choice. My lips are ZIPPED!

Hahaha, I reallllllly love reading reviews, and I love reviewing reviews even more, because it gives me something to do! Long reviews are the best, of course, cus it seems like the reviewers pay a lot more attention to the reading, and I love that! (Hahaha, great random Harry Potter moment)

Thanks for the awesomely long review! I loved it!

**IZZY: **I keep forgetting to do Izzy instead of ShalBrenfan, but I remembered this time! YES! Awww, did you have fun on vacation? I hope so! And Boone is most definitely a sweetie! I want a guy like him too! Thanks for the review!

**POLLLLLLLLLL**

Did that get your attention? If not…

**PAY ATTENTION HERE!**

Hehe, that must have!

Anyway, I just want to see who's for what ship here, cus I've got new reviewers, and I want to know numbers! Hahaha.

And, along with that…do you think you would stop reading if the ship you support wasn't the one that Scarlett picked?

That's all for now! On with the show!

* * *

**Solitary (4): **The Golfcourse

_I've been here so long, I think its time to move.  
The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon.  
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow…_

_  
And I've got some friends, some that I hardly know.  
But we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world.  
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go…_

_Swing Life Away__  
Rise Against_

Scarlett saw Kate standing by the shoreline, watching her. She walked up to her slowly.

"By your expression, I'm going to guess that everything with Sawyer didn't go as well as you'd planned," Kate observed, tilting her head to one side.

"You could say that," Scarlett replied, making a face. "He's just…he's insisting that he's this asshole, when I know he's not."

"How do you know he was pretending to be someone else before, and that this is really the 'real' him?" Kate asked, though it was clear that she, herself, didn't believe that.

"Because a first impression sticks with you," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I'm gonna go. I have some stuff to do."

"Okay," Kate said with a smile. Scarlett reached out and hugged the other girl. Kate looked surprised, but pleased.

"See you later," Scarlett said, waving. Kate nodded and turned back to face the waves.

* * *

Scarlett didn't get very far before she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw Boone walking towards her, grinning. She smiled back.

"Hey!" she exclaimed happily as he walked closer. He squinted in the sunlight.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

"I was bored up at the caves, so I decided to come down," she replied.

"I saw you talking to Sawyer," Boone said. "Well, I saw you go into his shelter. You looked mad when you came out. Everything all right?"

Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "Everything's fine. Don't worry."

"Okay," Boone said, grinning. "But for me not to worry is very hard."

"I'm aware," Scarlett laughed, shoving him playfully. Boone laughed as well. She was glad that he was smiling more. It made her glad to know that she made at least someone happy.

"Hey, Scarlett?"

Scarlett and Boone turned and saw Shannon walking towards them.

"Yeah?" Scarlett asked politely, ignoring Boone's little groan under his breath.

"I found this near your shelter," Shannon said, holding up a book. "I thought I remembered seeing you read it…"

Scarlett moved forward, squinting so she could see the cover.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "That is mine! Thanks, Shannon! I hadn't even noticed that it was missing."

She laughed and took the book that the other woman held out. Shannon smiled, and Scarlett grinned in return, thanking Shannon again.

"No problem," Shannon said. "I was glad when I saw you. It seemed like a pretty good book…but a bit too wordy for me."

She grinned and used one of her perfectly manicured nails to push her sunglasses back up onto her head. Scarlett felt slightly grungy and gross next to her. She resolved to change her clothes and take a bath later in the day.

"Yeah," she said. "It's good. It's taking me a while to read it though. Wordy."

"Yeah," Shannon laughed. "Well, I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, grinning. She thought about giving the other woman a hug, but decided against it at the last minute. She didn't know Shannon well enough to give her a hug. She had a feeling that Shannon wasn't exactly the hugging type.

Shannon turned and walked away with another smile, leaving Boone and Scarlett standing alone. Boone sighed.

"Oh, don't start," Scarlett laughed. "She was nice."

"Yeah. Don't be surprised if she asks you for something tomorrow," Boone muttered under his breath in reply. "She's only nice when she wants something."

"I love how you love your sister," Scarlett retorted.

Boone muttered something that Scarlett didn't catch. She just looked at him quizzically. He shook his head.

"I do love her," he said slowly. "It's just…she can be…you know, a bitch."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly, "Well…can't everyone?"

"Shannon's probably the biggest bitch I know," Boone sighed, rolling his eyes. "Trust me."

"Well…remember what I said earlier, about people starting over?" Scarlett said. "Shannon's no different. Maybe she just wants to start over."

Boone sighed.

"Maybe," he said offhand. "Let's stop talking about Shannon. You wanna go back to the caves? I'll go with you."

"Yeah, sure," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "Are you sure though? I mean…"

"Yeah," Boone said quickly. "I'm sure. Let's go."

Scarlett had a feeling that he just wanted to be away from Shannon, but she decided not to say anything. She just followed Boone as he marched up to the trees and disappeared along the path to the caves.

* * *

They reached the caves sometime later, after passing both Ethan and Jack, respectively, on the way. A man named Sullivan was whining loudly about some kind of rash that he had, and John was yelling about how his ankle was throbbing. Sun was standing in the middle of the caves, looking around helplessly.

"Poor Sun," Scarlett said, sighing. "Where was Jack going, anyway?"

"I think he was going to check up on Sawyer," Boone replied absently, looking around the caves. "Why?"

"Because he shouldn't have left her alone here!"

"Yeah," Boone replied. "That probably wasn't the smartest move. She doesn't even speak English."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. She made a face.

* * *

"Ow! Easy, Jackass!"

Sawyer hissed in pain as Jack ripped off the bandage.

"You want it easy, quit moaning. I've got to change these bandages," Jack said calmly in reply.

"Well, try not taking my skin off with them. How'd I score the house call, Dr. Quinn? Trying to ease your conscience.

"My conscience is fine, thanks," Jack retorted shortly.

"Of course," Sawyer replied sarcastically. "What do you have to feel guilty about? I mean, you just let that damn Arab torture me. Stood by and watched. You figure you patch me up, buy you a ticket to heaven? Only reason you're here."

"I'm here because no one else wants anything to do with you," Jack said simply. Sawyer laughed.

"I know two pretty ladies who would say otherwise."

Jack glared at him and started to speak, but Sawyer wasn't finished.

"Actually, y'know, they're probably the reason you're down here. They're both probably mad about what you did. You realize it was a dumbass mistake. You want to get on their good side. Specifically Freckles. Well, Doc, as long as I keep playing the tortured victim card, I have a feeling you ain't gonna be in Freckles' good graces for a long time. Let alone Sox's."

Jack glared at him.

"Change your own bandages," he growled, and he stood up and left the tent.

* * *

"Why does he keep coming around here?" Charlie asked Scarlett angrily, his arms folded across his chest. Scarlett placed her hands on her hips.

"He's my friend," she said through clenched teeth. "I know you don't like him, Charlie, but I do, okay? And as long as that's going on, then he's coming to the caves whenever he wants."

"Yeah," Charlie said sarcastically. "You can just totally get over the fact that Claire almost died because of him."

"Yeah, I can," Scarlett retorted angrily. "Because he took the water to help. It wasn't his fault that Claire got hot and passed out. It wasn't his fault that you all would have crucified him during the day if he had even gone within ten feet of the tent with that water. He was just trying to help."

She said the last sentence slowly, enunciating each word very clearly so Charlie might finally grasp the concept. However, Charlie just sighed.

"I don't understand how you can listen to him," he said darkly. "Doesn't he make you sick?"

"No, Charlie," Scarlett sighed with exasperation, trying not to laugh at the same time. "He doesn't make me sick. And he shouldn't make you sick either."

"Well, he does," Charlie muttered. "I'm tellin' you. Don't trust him."

"Charlie…I think you need to stop with this," Scarlett said incredulously. "Charlie…even Claire has forgiven him. She's the one that almost died. Don't you think that if Claire forgives him, then it's about time for you to?"

She gave Charlie a pointed look and turned and walked back to where Boone and Claire were sitting, both attempting to pretend that they both weren't trying to listen in on the conversation, and failing miserably in that area. Charlie sighed and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Claire asked. Boone just looked at her, eyes big. He knew what the conversation had been about.

"What do you think?" Scarlett asked with a dramatic sigh. "He's still not over it. You need to talk to him. Heart to heart. This is really getting ridiculous."

"Maybe I should just…" Boone began, starting to stand up, but Scarlett interrupted him before he could get any further.

"Don't even think it," she said warningly. He couldn't help a small grin, and he looked at the ground and sat back down.

"Scarlett's right," Claire said. "You belong here just as much as he does. If he can't see that…then that's his own problem."

She tried to seem like she didn't care that Charlie was being such a jerk, but Scarlett saw right through it. She knew how upset Claire was about Charlie's behavior, and she felt bad about it.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "He'll get over it in time. Just wait. He'll get over it."

Boone and Claire both nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah," they both said, though it was clear it was doubtfully, and then they looked at one another and shrugged.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Eddie walked up to them, grinning.

"Hey, guys," he said.

"Hey," everyone replied in unison.

"Did you hear about Hurley's golf course?" Eddie asked. Scarlett, who had been lying on her stomach, sat up to her knees with excitement.

"No!" she exclaimed. "A golf course?"

"Yeah," Eddie replied. "A golf course. It's got only two holes, but it's something to do. You guys should go check it out."

"Where is it?" Boone asked, making that Wiggly Eyebrow Face.

"Right through there," Eddie replied, pointing.

"Wanna go?" Scarlett asked her two friends eagerly, looking like an excited child.

"I'll meet you there," Boone replied, smiling to see her so happy. "I'm gonna go get a couple of things down at the beach first."

Scarlett had a feeling that the 'couple of things' included Shannon. She smiled and nodded.

"Claire?" she said.

"I'm a little tired," Claire replied quickly. "I'll stay here and take a nap."

"Okay," Scarlett said, pouting. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Claire replied. "I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, standing up and hugging her sitting friend. "See you!"

She smiled at Claire again and then looked to Boone.

"I'll be there soon," he said, and then he walked off towards the caves. Scarlett said one more goodbye to Claire and then went off with Eddie towards the golf course.

* * *

Scarlett arrived just as Charlie was taking a swing and completely missing the ball. Everyone laughed. When Hurley saw her, he walked up.

"Welcome to the Island Open," he said, spreading his arms open and grinning at her. "Impressive, huh?"

"Did you do this all by yourself?" Scarlett asked with a smile for the other man, looking around. The flags were made with bright shirts and bamboo, and he had actually managed to find golf clubs.

"Yup," he responded proudly. "I did."

"Hurley, you're amazing," Scarlett laughed. As she looked around, she noticed a great change in the people that were standing around him. They were happy. They weren't depressed and scared and desperate. They were laughing and enjoying themselves for the first time since the crash. "Amazing," she repeated. He grinned at her.

"Thanks, dude," he said. "I just figured we all needed something to do. You know, something to keep our minds off of stuff."

"I know what you mean," Scarlett replied.

"Hurley!" Charlie called out from behind them, over near the crown of people. "It's your turn, mate!"

"All right, dude!" Hurley yelled. "I…uh…gotta go," he said quickly to Scarlett. "Have fun, all right?"

With that, he turned and walked away quickly. Scarlett grinned at Eddie, and the two of them headed over to watch.

* * *

After about ten to twenty minutes of watching, Scarlett spotted Ethan and headed over.

"Hey," she said. He looked at her with surprise.

"Hey," he replied. "Scarlett, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "That's right. Ethan for you?"

"Yeah," Ethan laughed. They both smiled at each other.

"So..." Scarlett said awkwardly. "Isn't this a great idea by Hurley?"

"Yeah," Ethan replied, grinning. "Everyone's been really stressed out lately. It was a really good idea."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I never would have thought of it either, you know?"

"Yeah," Ethan responded. "Me neither."

He looked at Scarlett and smiled. Hurley swung and missed, and Charlie laughed.

"Nice swing. Now just hit the ball!" he laughed. Hurley raised the club threateningly.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. "Just let me concentrate, okay?"

Charlie laughed and backed off.

"All right!" he exclaimed. He happened to look at Scarlett, and grinned timidly, waving slightly. Scarlett waved back.

"Who's that?" Ethan asked.

"That's Charlie," Scarlett said, smiling. "I'm surprised you haven't talked to him yet. He's a very talkative person."

"He's the one who hangs around with the pregnant woman, right?" Ethan asked casually. "Claire?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a smile. "I think they might have a little thing going on."

Ethan laughed.

"A 'thing'?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "I don't want to call it love, you know, but it's definitely something more than friendship."

Ethan looked at her sadly for a moment.

"Is…um…is Claire your friend?"

"Claire? Yes!" Scarlett laughed. "My best friend at the moment. Really, you should meet her. She's really sweet."

"I'm sure I'll meet her one of these days," Ethan said, smiling, but still sounding sad. He looked at her, and Scarlett could almost feel the pain radiating off of him. A weird feeling started in her throat, like the lump that formed when she was about to cry. But before she could think about it too long, he looked away, and the weird feeling was gone.

She had barely opened her mouth to say something to him, when she heard Boone calling her name. She turned around, a pleased smile forming on her face.

"Hey!" she called out to he and Shannon. They were making their way up the gently sloping hill slowly. "Isn't this place great?"

Shannon smiled for the second time that day as she looked around.

"Yeah," she said happily. "It's great! I never thought I'd be so happy to watch golf." She started to say something else, but then Stephanie appeared, grinning at her.

"Hey, Shan," she said.

"Stephanie!" Shannon exclaimed happily, though it was quite clear she wasn't as thrilled to see the other woman as she pretended to be. "Hey!"

"Hey, Scarlett," Stephanie remarked, with a definitely distasteful air about her. "Hey Boone."

Surprisingly, she sounded slightly repulsed when she said 'hi' to Boone as well. Without another word, she tugged Shannon away from the two of them, whispering something to her, glaring at Boone darkly. As soon as they had pulled away and were lost in the crowd of happy survivors, Boone turned to Scarlett, looking happier than she had ever seen him.

"I think she hates me," he said joyously.

"I think she might!" Scarlett exclaimed, eyes widening with happiness. They both laughed like children; excited and giddy. Like Charlie.

"Thank God," Boone said with a heavy sigh of relief. Scarlett smiled at him.

"Good day for you, huh?" she said.

"The best one out here so far," Boone remarked with a little smirk. She smiled as well and looked out to face the golf tournament, which consisted of Hurley trying and failing, yet again, to hit the ball. She noticed Kate and Jack standing off to one side, talking, and she smiled. Jack seemed very happy. It was a new thing for him, and Scarlett was glad it was happening.

Boone seemed to notice it, and he smiled.

"Lookin' at Jack?" he asked. Scarlett nodded, smiling.

"Yeah," she said. "He looks happy."

"Checking him out?" Boone said suggestively, nudging her with his shoulder. Scarlett scoffed and looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

"Please," she said. "I am not going to be checking out Jack. I mean…he's remotely good looking, but there are way better-looking men out here."

Boone shook his head and looked back at the tournament. Scarlett looked at him for a moment longer before doing the same.

"Guys, please," Charlie said to the cheering crowd as he bent over the ball nervously. "I've never made par on a course before."

The crowd watched, silent, as he took his shot and completely missed.

"Dude, you were robbed," Hurley remarked.

"Bollocks," Charlie muttered. "See that?" Scarlett laughed.

"Nice shot!" she yelled. "Even I could make that!" Charlie looked at her and made a face.

"Maybe you could!" he yelled back. "But I bet I can still sing better than you!"

He, of course, was referring to his Driveshaft days.

"I'll take you up on that one later!" Scarlett shouted in reply.

"I'm gonna bet on her," Boone remarked.

Everyone laughed. Michael turned to Jack.

"Okay, Jack," he said. "It's up to you. Sink this and you get to wear the blazer."

"No pressure," Kate remarked with a smirk. Jack grinned at her.

"Yeah, no pressure," Charlie muttered sorely.

"Five bucks says he sinks it," Hurley said. Charlie looked at him, aghast.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're betting against me?"

"Sorry, man," Hurley replied with an innocent shrug. "But you're a duffer like me."

"Make it ten and you're on," Boone put in. Scarlett grinned at him, and he shrugged in reply.

"I don't have any cash," said Sullivan. "But I'll bet my dinner on the doc."

From the left came the voice that probably all of them could say that they would know anywhere.

"I've two tubes of sunscreen, a flashlight, says he chokes."

It was Sawyer. Scarlett smiled at him. Boone saw the smile and scowled, folding his arms across his chest. Everyone just stared at him for a moment, and then Kate chimed in.

"I'll take that action," she said lightly. Sawyer grinned. After a moment, Boone nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "Me too."

Scarlett looked at him with pride.

"You just bet on Jack, dumbass!" Shannon exclaimed laughingly. Boone just sighed and looked at her, obviously annoyed.

"We need the sunscreen, Princess," he retorted. Jack just smiled and took the shot…and missed.

* * *

Scarlett returned to the caves at sunset to find that Claire was already sleeping. She was about to settle down as well when she heard that voice from her right.

"So, Sox," Sawyer drawled easily. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"I just saw you today," Scarlett remarked, arching an eyebrow. Sawyer shrugged and moved to stand in front of her, his hands shoved lazily into his pockets.

"Yeah," he said. He paused. "Seems a lot longer than that, though."

"I know what you mean," Scarlett replied. "It seems like we've been stuck here forever, you know, and it's only been…what? Twelve days?"

"Yeah, around there," Sawyer said with a grin. "Seems like forever."

"Seems like forever," Scarlett repeated musingly.

"You comin' down to the beach tomorrow?" Sawyer asked. "I've missed having you to talk to."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, touched that he would say something like that. "Yeah, I'll be coming down. I've missed talking to you too."

"I wanna hear more about this brother of yours who you say I remind you of," Sawyer laughed. Scarlett laughed as well.

"There's plenty to tell," she said. Sawyer's eyes took on a faraway look and he nodded slowly.

"I'll bet," he muttered, and then he spoke louder. "Well, I'd better be getting back. Don't want anyone goin' through my stuff when I'm not there, you know?"

He smiled at her and gave a little laugh. She smiled as well and shook her head.

"Okay," she said. "Good night."

She stood up to hug him, but he held up a hand.

"I ain't exactly the huggin' type, Sox," he said. "Save that for Metro."

He grinned at her and waved before walking off into the darkness. Scarlett smiled and lay down, pulling the blanket over her. Then she slowly drifted off to sleep…

* * *

_She was lost. She ran through the woods, tears flying in every direction. _

_"Help!" she screamed. "Help me!"_

_She tripped and fell and sprawled out on the ground. Suddenly, Sawyer grabbed her arm and hauled her up. _

_"Come on, Sox!" he yelled. "Run!"_

_"Where are we going?" Scarlett asked, feeling fear course through her._

_"We can't just leave him!" Sawyer exclaimed. _

_"Who?" Scarlett asked._

_"Boone!" Sawyer exclaimed. "He's in trouble!"_

_"You _hate_ Boone!" Scarlett yelled, trying to run but finding her legs slowing down despite her efforts. Sawyer pulled on her hand, but he was starting to get sluggish as well. _

_"Sometimes you gotta put that stuff aside, Sox," he yelled. The rain began to pour down harder, and suddenly she heard an inhuman shriek, followed by a terrified yell that was very clearly Boone's voice. _

_"Help!" the voice yelled._

_Suddenly, they were standing in front of the ocean, and Boone was drowning. But another instant passed, and then they were in the jungle, and he lay on the ground beneath a tree, bloody and battered. Sawyer ran to him. _

_"He's alive!" he shouted back to Scarlett, who was frozen with horror at the sight. Blood was everywhere. Blood was on the ground. Blood was on the leaves. Blood rained from the sky, mixing with the water and falling onto her skin. She gagged._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Boone's apology cut through her heart like a knife, and she took a step towards him._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Another step._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Another. Another apology, another step. Another apology, another step. One foot in front of the other. She lifted her leg up, and set it down. Moved slowly and rhythmically towards him._

_And then she looked down and saw that his eyes were the most brilliant blue she had ever seen them. She looked at Sawyer and saw that he was crying. _

_"You know what you have to give him," he whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry, but you have to."_

_"I don't care," Scarlett replied. "Will it save him?"_

_"Yeah," Sawyer said, looking at her with respect. "Yeah. It will."_

_"Then do it."_

_Sawyer nodded, and stabbed a knife into her heart._

* * *

At the same instant, in three different places on the island, Scarlett, Boone, and Sawyer all awoke, drenched in a cold sweat, shivering and scared of the images that the dream left in their minds.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

I was un-smart again and forgot to break up episode 10, which means it isn't edited, etc. I'd do it now, but I have to leave, and I really want to get the chapter up, so I'll just say this…

Charlie and Claire cuteness

Really scary bad dream with creepy Locke

Locke niceness!

Ta-da!


	29. Raised By Another Part 1

I am VERY angry.

Some of you read my "Crawling Back To You" Shoone fic…but the site removed it because it contained song lyrics that I didn't write. Even though I credited the Backstreet Boys for their song, it was still removed! I think that is the DUMBEST thing, not being allowed to have song lyrics. What kind of a rule is that?

So I was suspended from posting for seven days, which is why I haven't updated in so long. Again…VERY angry! Grrrrrr!

So anyway….now I'm back, though still upset about my fic being removed. Oh well…

**_:PAY ATTENTION HERE:_**

**Miss Dior **and her friend run a Lost message board that I recently joined! The site is w.lost-island.tk . They only have a few members, so joining would rock!

**Saraiyu: **Awww! That's sad that your vacation got delayed, but good that you got to read the chapter! I'll miss you too! (Even though you're probably already gone! Haha!)

Haha, the dream was very creepy. There will be a lot of foreshadowing in her dreams, but I hope to make it so that no one gets what the foreshadowing is until the thing actually happens, and everyone will go 'ooohhhhhh…I get it now!' Though I'm not very good at keeping things a secret, hehe. The dream MAY have something to do with Do No Harm…. Hehe!

The golf scene was always one of my favorites. It was just so light and happy and cute! Aww, I loved it! Charlie…yes, that boy needs to grow up and get over the water. It was like…five episodes ago! Oh well. Those stubborn men…

Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Haha, oh wow, I was in such a weird mood that day. I was like…off the walls. I'm pretty sure I had a soda by my side as I was writing that thing at the end!

Ethan needs to go away and die! Even though I like the actor, Ethan himself is a jerk. Though he does seem pretty nice so far, which is creepy.

Awww, Charlie and Claire are so cute. I love those little guys!

Thanks for the review!

**Redhoodedsweatshirt: **Hahaha, poor Scarlett is very confused with the dream Locke and real Locke!

Haha, the image of Scarlett going all Matrix on Ethan's booty is wicked funny to me. I can see about eight hundred copies of Ethan walking out of the jungle, and Scarlett taking them all down in her black shiny outfit! Hahaha, that cracks me up!

Rrrrr, I didn't get to update soon this time! That makes me mad!

Thanks for the review! (And yes, Hurley's golfcourse certainly is bitchin')

**Rockasoul: **Hahaha, that was an amusing response. Heck yes, Boone and Sawyer are both wicked hot, and Scarlett is lucky! Hell, if I had to make the choice that Scarlett had to make, I wouldn't be stressing about it at all. They're both excellent choices.

Thanks for the review!

**KnightoftheRoundTable: **Yay! Reviews!

I actually do get what you mean with the dream thing. Because that's kinda what I was going for. It kind of shows that they're all connected somehow, in a way that's going to come about later! Hehe, more secrets!

Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Hahaha, yes, dream: really creepy

The website didn't show up! Gar, I hate the link things on this site! Just give me your name from fictionpress and I'll find it that way. My fictionpress name is the same as mine on here. I use that name, freakallweek125, and Lanceyjack125 for EVERYTHING. Hahaha!

I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory again last night, because I was going with friends who hadn't seen it yet! Johnny Depp was so cute in that movie, even though at times he was a little bit creepy! And Freddie Highmore is definitely my ten year old hero after that. He's so good at everything. I loved him in Finding Neverland too!

Oh, you get lucky, huh? Damn you! Hahaha, that's cool though. I wish I could win free Pepsi!

I actually got the 6th book two days ago! I got 20 bucks for finishing it in one day (Yesssss). It made me mad too! I was crying and getting really pissed off by the end! That's both of my favorite characters down the hole! Rrrrr!

I love hugs too! Scarlett just seemed like she'd be a huggy person. I was reading for an article in like…history or something last year that people who didn't get much affection as kids were more likely to be "touchy-feely" as adults. So I thought that making Scarlett a huggy person was a good idea, since she definitely didn't get much affection when she was little!

Yeah, first impressions do stick, which can be a bad thing sometimes! But in this case it's probably a good thing, because now she still talks to Sawyer even though he can be an asshole!

Boone is _very _devoted to Shannon, which is wicked cute. Of course, she doesn't deserve it, the lying, conning bi-atch that she is. I think Boone should be devoted to me. I like that! Hahaha!

Haha, I'm like…the anti-worrywart. I'm so relaxed about everything. My friend Grace is the ultimate worrywart! She'll be running around in the school library because wee have a paper due in a week, and I'll be chatting with friends, chilling out, doing nothing. I'm laid back to the point of being an idiot!

Hahaha, I have moments like that, when I don't know what the heck is going on, and I have to read back and look at it again. My brain has problems!

Hahahahaha, that story made me laugh so hard! Something just like that happened to me in Maine! There was this HUGE bug flying around the kitchen, and I was upstairs in my room, where there's this balcony that I can see down into the kitchen and living room, and my bed is right near the balcony, so I could see the bug and my sister, who was sitting on the couch reading. And I said "Holy crap, look at that bug!" And my sister looked up and it flew right into her hair! It was so funny! Your story reminded me of that a ton!

You really don't like Ethan, do you? Lol!

Sun speaking English is a huge secret…and only Michael and Scarlett know the truth! Hahaha, but not for long, as we know!

Sawyer really does try too hard. He's a nice guy and everyone knows it, so he needs to stop trying to pretend he's a jerk!

Charlie really does need to get over the water thing. Poor Boone was only trying to help, and he's turning it into this huge grudge! Silly hobbit! And yeah, now, he's forcing Claire to kind of choose between them, and that's not very nice!

My favorite part of the golfcourse was when Charlie was trying to help Hurley and was putting his arms around his waist. That made me laugh harder than anything else on the show so far.

Ethan's a creeeeppyyy dude!

Dream: very creepy! Lol, there's another scary one coming up soon, I believe.

I think that's from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood…could be wrong, though!

Thanks for the review!

**LeoChris: **I'm glad you found the story!

Hahaha, I liked the three reviews in one! That's great!

Hehe, well, you'll just have to wait and see with the Boone. I will tell you that Boone WILL be hurt, and Scarlett WILL be there when he's being tended to. Heehee, I know, I'm so mysterious!

Haha, Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you like the story!

**IZZY: **Yessssss, I remembered it again!

Wow, sounds like a hell of a vacation! Looks like you had fun! Hehe, I love shopping too! And the ocean! Holy jeez you're lucky! I've never even BEEN to Europe! Travelling in a car? Road trip! Hahaha!

My summer has been kind of good. Nothing really exciting, but that's me. I like relaxing, lol. As long as it's not school, I'm fine! Haha!

Lol, as you'll find in this chapter, poor Boone opened his mouth too soon. (Dun dun DUN)

Ooooh, I vote for the Lost story! Of course! Hahaha!

Hmmm…a name? Well…how about something you really like? My name comes from one of my favorite actors. Maybe you could do something like that? Or just something in general that you like. Like…ice cream! Lol!

Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Haha, The dream was very scary! And Boone does seem a little jealous, doesn't he?

Haha, Sawyer never seemed like a huggy type of guy, unlike Boone, so I figured he'd probably say something like that.

That's good that you like both couples! That way you won't leave me! Hahaha.

Oh man! Those crazy Sunday nights! Hahaha! I'm glad I'm not the only one with an irregular sleeping pattern!

I'm very glad that I have this story to write, or I'd have lost my mind by now! I get bored VERY easily, and there's not a whole lot to do around here, so this story is pretty much keeping me sane. I love writing that much, hahaha.

Wa-hoo! I joined! I'll tell my friends when I actually SEE them! Hahaha! I'm so isolated here! As you can see, I did some advertising though! Hahaha!

Legal Studies assignment? Sounds like fun! Hahaha!

Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Yes! ESP! Hahaha, I love having ESP with people!

Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it!

**Paige03: **Haha, Yes! I shocked someone!

Hehehe, I can't tell you what the dream meant, but it will be coming along later. Relatively soon? I think? Haha!

Hurley is definitely soooo sweet! I love that big guy! Haha!

That is definitely very like Sawyer to turn down a hug. Though, if you ask me, that guy NEEDS a hug! Haha!

Thanks for the review!

**Dark syrinx: **Yay! You're almost there! Boone really is too cute to die! He's adorable!

I'm glad I'm keeping you sane! Hahaha!

Thanks for the review!

**Pheonix-Talon: **Hey! It's you! Wow! I was so happy when I got this review!

I'm glad Jacey's reading it too. I agree. It might do her character some good! Haha, she could take a few pointers from Scarlett on how to deal with Sawyer.

Haha, I think Robbins has an idea! And we all know how jealous Jacey would be if Scarlett chose a certain someone….

Haha, thanks soo much for the review! It made me feel great! Hope your next part is out soon!

**Goddess247: **Awww yay! I'm so glad you liked it!

Haha, I agree about Boone. I want a man like him! He's so cute!

Well, I can't tell you WHO Scarlett's gonna choose, but I can tell you that it's coming soon! Well…her choice is coming soon. Hook up is a little later than that, IF she even hooks up with her first choice!

* * *

**Raised By Another (1): **A Surprising Friendship

The next morning when Scarlett awoke, she found that Claire was already up and writing in her diary. Charlie was sitting beside her.

"Y'know, it's absolutely bloody _maddening_ when you do that," he remarked to Claire, glancing at her. She grinned and just kept writing, shaking her head slightly. Scarlett sat up, and both Charlie and Claire smiled at her.

"Good morning," Scarlett said with a laugh. "You two seem to be having fun."

"She won't let me see what she's writing," Charlie told her grumpily. Both Claire and Scarlett laughed, and Claire gave Scarlett a smile as if to say: 'see? This is what I have to deal with!'

"You really think she'd let you?" Scarlett asked, giving him a look. Charlie shot her a playful glare.

"She should," he muttered darkly. Claire laughed again.

"I told you, Charlie, I'm not going to let you read it!"

Charlie pouted and made the most adorable puppy-dog eyes Scarlett had ever seen. She laughed.

"Oh, look at him!" she laughed. Claire looked up from her writing and glanced at Charlie, and fell into giggles as well.

"Oh, Charlie!" she exclaimed. Charlie had a hard time keeping a straight face, and he finally laughed and sat back.

"All right, all right," he said with a sigh. "Don't show me. I totally understand."  
"Good!" Scarlett and Claire exclaimed at the same moment. They laughed again. Charlie shook his head, pretending to be upset and very saddened.

"I can see how appreciated I am around here," he said morosely. Scarlett shrugged.

"Well, that's good," she said. "At least you can tell that."

He glared at her, and she smiled sweetly in return and pulled out her own diary. He groaned and stood up.

"I give up!" he exclaimed. "You win! I'm going for a walk!"

Claire and Scarlett laughed as he got up and walked off down the path to the caves, waving to some guy that Scarlett hadn't met yet on his way.

"He's adorable," Claire laughed.

"He really is," Scarlett agreed. Claire was silent for a moment. Then, she spoke.

"Hey, Scarlett? Boone was telling me the other day that you were having these really weird dreams."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, warily, wondering where the conversation was going.

"Did these start after the crash, or have you always had them?"

Claire looked at her curiously. Scarlett shrugged.

"Well, I've always had really weird, scary dreams, but they've definitely been getting worse, I think, since the crash."

"Yeah?" Claire asked, sounding frightened.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, worried. "Why?"

"It's just…last night I had this really weird dream about a black rock. I was trying to get away from it, but no matter which direction I ran, I ended up back at the black rock. It was really weird."

"My mom used to tell me that my dreams meant something," Scarlett said conversationally. "Maybe it was supposed to tell you something."

"I hope not," Claire said shakily. "Because you were in it."

"Really?" Scarlett asked, feeling a small stab of fear. "What happened to me?"

"I heard you yelling for me, and then you screamed something. I ran to find you, and saw you looking down at the ground. And I knew there was someone lying at your feet, but I couldn't see them. I think it was Boone. That was what I thought in the dream anyway. You were all covered in blood and shaking and crying and you told me that he was dead. Then you just collapsed."

Scarlett bit her lip and looked down at the ground. She had always thought it was cool that dreams could mean something, but she was hoping that Claire's didn't. She didn't want Boone to die. Or whoever was on the ground. She didn't want _anyone _to die.

"It might not mean anything," she said nervously.

"I hope not," Claire whispered. "I really hope not. That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life. It was so real…"

She broke off and shook her head. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"I know what you mean," she murmured, recalling her own dream from the night before. Boone had been hurt in that dream too. She was starting to get worried.

"Are you gonna go down to the beach today?" Claire asked. Scarlett nodded.

"Probably, "she said. "Sawyer wanted me to talk to him, and I also wanna go talk to Boone."

"Sawyer wanted you to talk to him?" Claire asked, sounding amused. Scarlett shot her a look.

"Don't even start," she said warningly. "We're just talking."

Claire snorted.

"Yeah, right," she said. "No, don't tell me. It's okay. I understand you want to keep this little fling a secret."

"Will you stop!" Scarlett exclaimed laughingly. "I'm going to the beach!"

"Okay," Claire said with a giggle. "I'm gonna go find Charlie."

Scarlett helped her friend stand up, and then they hugged and walked off in opposite directions.

* * *

_"Look, Scarlett, I know this is hard on you, but Mrs. Peterson is a wonderful woman."_

_"I'm sixteen. I can look after myself," Scarlett said sourly._

_"Well, with your…condition, we thought that maybe it would be better if you had someone to look after you."_

_The woman looked down at Scarlett pointedly. _

_"Look, I don't have a fucking condition, all right? Why can't I just stay with Mr. and Mrs. Martin?"_

_"Your mother wanted you to be left with Mrs. Peterson and no one else," the woman replied._

_"I don't even know her!"_

_"Well, you're going to get to know her very soon." _

_Scarlett could see that she was pissing the social worker off, so she decided to be quiet. She just stood there and waited as the woman rang the doorbell. She heard someone walking around inside, and then the door opened and a woman who looked around her mother's age opened the door with a bright smile. She was pretty with brown hair, and looked an awful lot like her mother._

_"Hello," she said gently. "I'm Carrie Peterson. You must be Scarlett."

* * *

_

Scarlett reached the beach a little while later. She was finding that the walk seemed to take less and less time. She was also beginning to get much less afraid of walking alone through the woods, since no one had seen or heard from that _thing_ in a while.

As soon as she exited the woods and reached the beach, she spotted Boone carrying firewood with Stephanie, a miserable frown on his face as she chatted with him. Apparently, Stephanie didn't hate him after all. Scarlett wanted to go save him, but she had a feeling that if she did, Stephanie would bite her head off. She looked towards Sawyer's shelter and saw Kate entering it. She smiled and shook her head. That woman needed to make up her mind. Did she hate Sawyer or not? Of course, Scarlett was one to talk.

Glancing from Sawyer's shelter to Boone and Stephanie, she moved towards the latter two instead. Her main decision-making factor: Sawyer probably welcomed the company he was with. Boone most clearly did not.

"Hey, Boone," she said sweetly, walking up to him. Boone looked like he was extremely hot. She had a feeling that the only reason his shirt was still on was because Stephanie was there.

"Hey, Scarlett," he replied, looking absolutely beyond happy. "You…uh…wanna help?"

"Sure," Scarlett said. They shared a look, and Boone grinned at her, wiping his forehead. The sweat just dripped right back down from his hair. Scarlett laughed and shook her head. "On second thought, how about you stop. You're going to get heat stroke."

"What?" Boone asked indignantly. "No I'm not!"

"Boone…" Scarlett began, giving him what looked like a warning look, but was really an insinuating one. Boone finally understood.

"All right," he said slowly. "I'll stop working. For now, anyway. I know how worried you get about me."

He smiled at her and ruffled her hair playfully. She returned the gesture with a smile. Stephanie glowered in the background.

"You should take a break too, Stephanie," Scarlett said casually, fixing her hair. "It's really hot out."

"Yeah," Stephanie snapped. "It is." She turned to Boone. "Just…when you're ready to start working again, come get me, okay?"

"Yeah," Boone said. Scarlett focused all her energy on not laughing. Stephanie walked away with a backward glance over her shoulder at him. As soon as she was gone, Boone turned to Scarlett with the most relieved expression she had ever seen.

"_Thank you_," he said. She finally allowed herself to laugh, and she shrugged.

"You owe me," she said, pointing at him.

"I owe you _big_," he replied with a laugh, hugging her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she responded. "Drink some water. You look like you're going to pass out. And let go of me! You're getting me all gross and sweaty!"

She picked up a towel that was crumpled up on the ground nearby and tossed it to him. He took it and wiped off his face, panting with a grin.

"You know what you remind me of?" she asked suddenly, grinning thoughtfully.

"What?" Boone asked warily.

"A puppy," Scarlett replied, laughing.

"A puppy?" Boone asked, making face and arching his eyebrows, which only strengthened Scarlett's decision.

"Most definitely a puppy," she replied with a grin.

"Well, I guess it's not the worst thing," he said, giving a little laugh. "But why a puppy?"

"Well, your facial expressions, for one," Scarlett said. Boone tilted his head to one side, giving her a questioning look. "Like that!"

Boone laughed and straightened his head out.

"What else?" he asked.

"Well, the way you're always eager to work, and how you're always panting when you get hot."

Boone stopped panting abruptly, but even as he did that, he looked like a dog. She laughed, and he smiled at her.

"I mean…I guess puppy's pretty good," he said. "It could be worse. I could be like…a donkey or something."

"No," Scarlett said seriously. "Jack's the donkey."

Boone's eyes lit up, and he laughed the hardest that Scarlett had ever seen him laugh. She laughed too, just because he was. When he finally stopped laughing, he looked at her and shook his head, grinning.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who made that comparison," he remarked.

"Definitely not," Scarlett laughed. She sat down. "Sit."

Boone sat. She grinned at him, and he shook his head.

"Now I'm even taking orders," he said, sighing. "What next?"

"As long as you don't start licking me, I'm good," Scarlett laughed. Boone gave her a look like he was thinking about it, but at a warning look from her, he shook his head.

"No, don't worry," he said, grinning. "I wouldn't do that."

"Good," Scarlett laughed. "That would be crossing the line."

"Just a little bit," Boone said sarcastically, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to come down to the beach for a little chat."

Scarlett and Boone both looked up to see Sawyer standing over them, grinning down at them roguishly. Boone suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Hey, Sawyer," Scarlett said with a grin. "Wanna sit down?"

"Naw," Sawyer laughed. "You two look like little kids in a sandbox. 'Sides, I was just heading up to the caves to get me some water."

"You wanna go up there now too?" Scarlett asked Boone. "Get away from Stephanie?"

"Stephanie? That that blonde chick who's always slobberin' all over you?" Sawyer asked Boone with a casual sip of his water. Boone grimaced and nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "That would be Stephanie."

"Ah," Sawyer said. "Well, from one man to another, I know just the way to get rid of a woman like that."

"How?" Boone asked, sounding like there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to get away from Stephanie.

"Make her jealous," Sawyer replied with a shrug. "Walk around with another girl all the time."

"I already do," Boone pointed out, gesturing towards Scarlett.

"Yeah," Sawyer said, arching an eyebrow. "That you do. But talk about her a lot around Stephanie. Make sure that you're seen with her a lot. That kinda stuff. I mean…the only lady I been seein' you with since Scarlett and Claire moved up to the caves is your sister, and that ain't exactly going to make Stephanie jealous."

Boone made a face and looked down.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Scarlett just watched Sawyer proudly. He was talking to Boone. Helping him. Being _nice_.

"Don't worry about it, kid. Women like her are as desperate as they come, but they ain't so desperate to keep hanging over you when you apparently got another woman."

Boone nodded and grinned.

"Yeah," he said. Sawyer grinned and patted Boone on the shoulder.

"It's all right, kiddo," he said with a grin. "She'll back off."

Scarlett had a feeling that Stephanie wasn't the only thing bothering Boone, but he wasn't going to say anything about it, she knew.

"Thanks, Sawyer," he said. Sawyer shrugged.

"What can I say," he said, grinning. "I'm used to stuff like this happening to me."

Boone grinned nervously, and Sawyer laughed.

"Now you and Sox walk around on the beach for a while. If any of you need me, I'll be back in my shelter."

"Okay," Boone said slowly, warily, as if expecting Sawyer to say something else. He didn't. He just grinned and waved to Scarlett, who was still smiling wide and proud, and walked back to his shelter. Boone turned to Scarlett, and saw that she looked extremely happy.

"Well," he remarked, smirking. "That was weird."

"Yeah," she said happily. "Sawyer was being so nice!"

Boone laughed at her giddy happiness.

"Yeah," he said. "He was."

Scarlett grinned.

"I swear, lately everyone is just being so great," she laughed. "Shannon, Sawyer, Jack, you…"

"I'm not great every day?" he asked with a slow grin. She laughed.

"Of _course _you're great every day!" she exclaimed. "Just today you're being nice to Sawyer."

"Hey," Boone said defensively. "The only reason I'm not nice to Sawyer normally is because he's not all that nice to me."

"I know, I know," Scarlett replied, still with that smile on her face. Boone was sure she was going to burst with happiness. "But…I don't know. Everyone just seems to be in a good mood."

"Yeah," Boone replied, looking at her with a smile. "They do."

* * *

That day was uneventful. There were no fights. No polar bears or boars or monsters. Sayid didn't show up, much to Scarlett's sadness. Scarlett and Boone just sat at the beach and talked. All day. She didn't know how they never ran out of things to talk about, considering that that was…all they did…but they never seemed to. They could just sit there and talk for hours about one subject, and never get bored. It was the same with she and Claire.

Sawyer stopped by a few times, with some more tips for Boone that they all had a good laugh about. Stephanie didn't come back, and Boone didn't go look for her. Boone resolved to make her jealous the next day.

When it started to get dark, she hugged Boone, said goodbye to Sawyer, and made her way back to the caves, never knowing that when she left, Sawyer sat down in the sand with Boone, and the two of them talked. About her. About themselves. About everything.

"You're all right, kid," Sawyer remarked to Boone as he stood up to go to bed. "I like you. And you know I don't like many people."

Boone smiled at him.

"Thanks, Sawyer," he said. "I like you too."

And they parted, both of them feeling happy and content.

* * *

Scarlett, meanwhile, was back at the caves with Claire and Charlie. Claire recounted the day's medical 'emergency', when Sullivan started freaking out because he claimed that his rash had doubled in size. Jack had literally flipped out and sent Sullivan to the beach, claiming that the salty air would do him some good.

"I swear," she said with a laugh. "It was by far the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life. Jack just…completely lost it."

"I have never seen him lose his cool that much," Charlie laughed. "He's a good man. No doubting that. But…he just needs to learn to relax."

"Like me," Scarlett said with a laugh.

"Since when are you _relaxed_?" Claire asked with an incredulous laugh.

"I know!" Charlie exclaimed. "You're constantly stressed out about the least little things."

"Shut up!" Scarlett retorted. "I'm not that bad. You want stressed out? Talk to Boone."

"She has a point," Claire said to Charlie. "I mean, I know you don't know Boone all that well, because you refuse to get to know him, but…he's a really worried guy."

"Don't start that, Claire," Charlie said, though he couldn't help a small smile.

"I just think it's silly how you can't just give the poor guy another chance. He's young, Charlie. He made a mistake. It's not the end of the world."

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but then he shrugged.

"Whatever," he said.

"So you'll give him a chance?" Claire asked. "Please?"

Charlie took one look at Claire's big, pleading eyes, and he nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "I'll give him a chance."

Scarlett had a feeling she knew why.

* * *

Later on that night, Scarlett lay awake, listening to the various sounds of the jungle. She heard someone getting water. Someone else yawned. Another person coughed. She opened her eyes just as a dark figure walked up to where she was sleeping. She didn't scream. She didn't react. She just watched. The man or woman didn't do anything. He/She just stared down at her and Claire, their hands at their sides. There was no movement at all. Just…staring. Scarlett hoped they couldn't see her eyes opened in the dark. She doubted it.

Someone on the other side of the cave coughed again, and the figure started and turned around, walking back to wherever they had come from. Which, apparently, was the trees.

Scarlett, creeped-out and tired, lay awake for a long, long time, and then finally closed her eyes and fell into an extremely uneasy sleep.

* * *

_"Run!" _

_Scarlett tripped over an unseen rock and sprawled to the ground, as something behind her got louder. She didn't know what it was, but it was there. _

_"Run!" _

_The voice yelled again. Scarlett hauled herself to her feet, ignoring the scrapes on both legs, and ran again. Someone was running after her. She couldn't stop. She just kept running. Kept running…_

_Then she fell again, and she rolled over onto her back as the figure approached her. It was the same figure who had stood over her in the caves. Their face was still obscured by the shadows, and they didn't move. Just stared. _

_"Help me!"_

_Scarlett turned around and saw Charlie and Claire standing beneath a huge tree, staring at her. _

_"Help me!" Charlie yelled, though his calm and unwrinkled facial expression didn't match the frantic tone of his voice. "Help me!"_

_"Help me!" Claire screamed, though she looked serenely calm, and Scarlett realized with a jolt that in all those dreams she'd had since they'd crashed, all those distant screams for help that she'd heard…they were all Claire. Every one of them. _

_"Run!"_

_Boone burst into the clearing, covered in blood and panting for breath. Locke followed after him, a gun in one hand. Sawyer emerged after him._

_"You knew it had to happen," Locke said to Scarlett calmly. _

_"Help me!" Claire screamed. _

_"Run!" Boone yelled, stumbling towards her. Scarlett held out her arms for him. Locke raised the gun and fired. Scarlett screamed as the bullet pierced Boone's arm, the details so real that she wanted to vomit. _

_"Boone!" she screamed. Boone fell to the ground, gasping and looking more like a puppy than he ever had. "Locke! What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_Sawyer pulled out a gun and shot Locke. Locke fell back, but before he fell, he got one shot off at Sawyer. It hit him in the shoulder. He didn't seem to notice. Scarlett thought she heard a splash somewhere. _

_"Help me!"_

_Scarlett stood there, staring at the carnage around her, and wished fervently that she had never gotten on the plane. _

_"This is your paradise, honey," came Stephen's voice from behind her. He stood next to that dark figure, grinning. "Come on now, let's be realistic, huh?"_

_"No," Scarlett said firmly, but not without some traces of fright. She backed away and almost stepped on Boone's outstretched hand, which lay limp on the ground. Scarlett bent down and pulled Boone up into a sitting position. "Come on," she said, grunting with the effort. "We need to get you to Jack."_

_"Jack can't help me," Boone said with startling clarity. "He can't do anything for me."_

_"No, no, no, yes he can!" Scarlett exclaimed. "He can definitely help you!" _

_She was beginning to cry now. Sawyer was at her side, his wound a river of blood, winding its way down his shirt. _

_"We gotta do something," he said through clenched teeth. "We gotta help him."_

_Sawyer was crying. _

_"Help me!"_

_Scarlett turned. Claire was still there. Charlie was still there. Stephen was still there. That person was still there. They were all watching her, expecting her to do something._

_"Boone?" she said gently, turning back to face him. "Boone, can you…"_

_But Boone's eyes flew open as a gunshot fired, and he sagged forward into Scarlett's arms, eyes wide with fear. Locke stood there, a hole in his chest, his breath growling hoarsely in his throat as he lowered the still-smoking gun. Sawyer leapt at him with a furious roar. Scarlett cradled Boone to her as the fight sounded in the background._

_"'M sorry," he mumbled. _

_"No, no, no," Scarlett whispered tearfully. "It's not your fault."_

_"Shoulda listened to…Shan," he sighed. "Shan."_

_"It's okay," Scarlett said gently. "It's okay. Don't do this, Boone. Don't do this."_

_"Tell Shannon…"_

_"Help me!"_

_"Tell Shannon…"_

_"You son of a bitch!"_

_"Tell…"_

_"Help!"_

_"Tell Scarlett…"_

_"Bastard. Bastard. Bastard."_

_"Tell Scarlett…"_

_"Is this really what you want, baby? Come on now. You know you want to come home."_

_"Tell Shannon…"_

_Locke fell to the ground, his face deformed and bloody. Sawyer stood over him with his knuckles stained red, looking down with pure hatred written on his face. Stephen stopped talking. Claire stopped screaming. And Boone stopped breathing. _

_Scarlett felt the tears come to her eyes, and she began to cry; great, gulping sobs that wracked her body and left her dizzy and weak. Sawyer knelt by her and put his arm around her shoulder, and he cried too. She turned into his chest, and she clutched Boone to hers like a rag-doll, giving him comfort that she hoped fervently would bring him back. A fool's hope. _

_She turned to look at Stephen, to yell at him and tell him that it was all his fault. Then he saw that Stephen was gone. The figure was gone. Charlie and Claire were gone. Somewhere, Claire screamed. _

_And Scarlett couldn't help but feel that Stephen was right.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a start as someone gently tapped her on the shoulder. She sat up with a jolt, nearly hitting them in the face with an out-flung arm. She froze when she realized that it was Locke. Still half in the clutches of the dream, she nearly screamed, but instead flinched back with some confusion.

"Are you all right, Scarlett?" he asked, as if using her name would somehow make her less confused. Unbelievably, it actually seemed to have a positive effect, and she calmed down the slightest bit, after reassuring herself that the dream was just a dream.

"Yeah," she mumbled tiredly. "Bad dream."

"Oh," Locke said with a small smile. "You looked pretty upset about something. You were starting to whimper. Make little puppy-dog noises. I figured it would be good to wake you up before you started screaming.

_Puppy-dog noises_, Scarlett thought grimly. _Ironic_.

"Oh," she said out loud. "Thanks. That would have been embarrassing."

She laughed quietly, and Locke smiled at her; a jolly old man smile. Scarlett wondered if he had ever been a department store Santa Claus. He sure should have been.

"I figured," he said. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "What time is it?"

"Almost dawn," Locke said vaguely. "No point in going back to sleep, is there?"

"Not really," Scarlett laughed. "Thanks for waking me, though. That was one hell of a dream. I'm glad to be out of it."

"No problem," Locke replied. "I'm sometimes prone to frightening dreams myself. Not as often as you, apparently."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a smile. "I have some weird ones."

Locke smiled and patted her knee, covered by a red blanket, and stood up slowly.

"I'll see you later," he said. Scarlett smiled.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. Oddly enough, he reminded her of her grandfather, even thought she barely even remembered him. He had died of lung cancer when Scarlett was five. The only thing she remembered was the time he sat her on his knee and said to her, "listen, kid. Your brother's a good guy, but you're my angel. Don't you ever forget that."

Locke stood up and walked off, and Scarlett smiled to herself before lying back down and staring at the sky, knowing that she wouldn't be sleeping. Though when Locke was there (after the initial fright of him being there so soon after his antagonistic role in her nightmare was gone), the atmosphere had been warm and cheery, it suddenly became oppressive and even slightly scary. The dream was still fresh in her mind, and though she tried as hard as she possibly could, she couldn't put it out of her mind.

And, back at the beach, a certain someone couldn't put _her _out of _his _mind, after a shockingly similar dream had woken _him _up as well.

* * *

**Next chapter: **

(Scarlett walks up to Sawyer and Boone, who are sitting on the beach, laughing. She sees that they're drinking)

**Scarlett: **How many of those have you had?

**Sawyer: **_(Hesitates) _One.

(Scarlett shakes her head. He's clearly lying. Cut to Scarlett and Kate sitting by the water.)

**Scarlett: **When I feel like I need it…I'll tell you. About my past. The relationship that I've had that's making me confused like this.

**Kate: **And I'll tell you about me when _I _need it most.

(They smile and shake hands. Cut to Kate and Scarlett standing in front of Sawyer's tent, watching Sawyer and Boone drinking and laughing loudly, clearly drunk.)

**Kate: **Wow.

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	30. Raised By Another Part 2

Allll right! Here's the update!

I'm wicked tired, so I'll keep this short, lol. I wanna go back to sleep!

Wa-hooo, I'm completely done with Hearts and Minds, and have finished a paragraph of Scarlett's episode, which is going to be entitled "Away From Me" after one of my favorite Evanescence songs.

Thanks for the reviews guys! And pleaaaseee review again! It makes me so happy!

**Hekate-Trivia: **I'm STILL mad about that story getting removed, hahaha. I don't get over things easily!

Freddie Highmore is ADORABLE! I love that kid so much! I wish I could be in two movies with Johnny Depp! Haha!

Lol, school work….never! My friends always joke around with me because I never stress, but I get good grades anyway. I swear, not worrying is very effective! Haha!

Shannon doesn't deserve AIR, let alone Boone!

Teehee, yes, that was Ethan. He's a scary, scary guy! And so are Scarlett's dreams!

Haha, the castaways are all so friendly today! And yes, Mrs. Peterson will be back A LOT in coming chapters. She was mentioned briefly at the beginning of the story, during one of the first chapters, but I never went back to her until now.

Hahahaha, omg, that IS creepy! Scary Harry Porrter family meetings! Hahaha!

I'm glad you consider my story worth reading! That makes me feel all special inside! Haha!

Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Hahaha, Boone and Sawyer are so cute. I think the two of them woulda been pretty good friends if they ever got the chance to get along. Looks like Scarlett is their chance, even though they're kind of competing, lol.

Holy awesome, you get to do your paper on Lost! That would be my first choice too! Hahaha! I'd get bored doing it on a regular news item too most definitely! I hope you do good on your paper!

Thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **I was proud of Sawyer myself! He's being such a nice child! I love it!

Charlie and Claire are most definitely an adorable couple! I love the two of them together!

Awww! Thanks for the kind words! That's wicked appreciated! It makes me feel like I have something to write for! Haha!

And yeah, I thought it was pretty unfair too! It made me extremely angry!

Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Me? I'll never stop! No one and nothing can make me stop! I love writing this story way too much to ever stop! But yeah…that rule makes me extremely angry. If we credit the song…then why the hell can't we have lyrics from it? I just don't understand!

Boone and Sawyer are wicked cute! It's only fitting that the two hottest guys on the island, in my opinion, are friends! Then getting drunk…I literally just wrote down without thinking that they had alcohol, and then I got the idea of them being drunk.

I used to think that Boone was exactly like a dog, so I figured that I'd put it in the story, since he really does.

Scarlett and Kate will get closer as time goes on, as will Scarlett and Shannon. Scarlett and Sun, too. Scarlett's just making friends left and right, though she does lose her _best _friend, so that sucks majorly!

Heck yes Locke is evil! I've always thought so, and I'm not going to stop thinking so any time soon! He needs to go away!

Thanks for reviewing!

**TotallyLost: **Hahaha, Sawyer and Boone are lovable and cute! Hehehe! Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn:** Hahaha, I'm glad you like Sawyer. Sawyer's glad too. He's really a nice guy, lol!

And heck yes, Boone looks like a puppy! His eyes are very puppyish, especially. Him and Jared Leto! Ahhhh, puppy dog eyes. Gotta love them!

LOVED your last chapter! It was great!

Thanks for reviewing!

**Chrizz: **Hahaha, Boone and Sawyer have found something to connect over; Scarlett! And tell Sawyer what? Haha

Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Raised By Another (2): **Drunks Before Noon

Scarlett made her way down to the beach around eleven-thirty, dressed in fresh clothes and happily fiddling with her still-drying hair. However, as she looked around with a serene smile at the waves and the pristine sand, which seemed unusually beautiful that morning, she saw a sight that made her freeze and literally gasp aloud.

Sawyer and Boone sat facing each other, each with a small bottle of something (most likely alcoholic) in their hands. Both of them were laughing. Smiling. At each other. Scarlett blinked a few times, and then her smile grew again. She walked forward, arms crossed over her chest.

"So you actually got the money?" Sawyer asked with a laugh, taking another swig of his drink. Boone nodded and laughed as well. Scarlett noticed that the both of them were a little red in the face. She smiled and stopped in front of them, looking down with a slightly disapproving smile.

"It's not even noon yet," she said, pointing to her watch. Eleven fifty-five.

"Oh, please, Sox!" Sawyer laughed. "A man doesn't need a damn watch to tell him when's the right time to have a drink!"

Scarlett looked at him with one eyebrow arched.

"How many of those have you had?" she asked incredulously.

"Just this one," Sawyer lied. Scarlett saw through it blatantly.

"And him?" she asked, pointing to Boone. Sawyer shrugged.

"One." He didn't sound like he was lying. "Boy doesn't hold his liquor very well."

Boone looked embarrassed. A puppy. Scarlett's dream came back to her, and she grimaced slightly before bending down and taking the drinks from their hands as they whined.

"Hey," she said with just the right amount of firmness to shut them up. "You're lucky that's all I'm doing to you. You two just stay here, and I swear to God the first one that moves gets their skull bashed in."

Sawyer laughed. Boone looked at the ground sadly, like he thought he had disappointed her or something. She ruffled his hair as she walked by, the two glass bottles in her hand, and he looked up at her, smiling eagerly. She half-expected his tongue to hang out.

Chuckling to herself at the very thought of it, Scarlett made her way over to Sawyer's shelter, where she lazily put the stoppers in the bottles and left them on one of the chairs. Then she started back, almost groaning aloud when she saw that Stephanie was making her way over to Boone. She increased her pace to almost a walk. She had to think fast. _Think fast._ _Come on, Scarlett! Think!_

"Ow!" she yelled suddenly, falling to her hands and knees in the sand. Boone and Sawyer looked at her, their faces clouded with worry.

"What happened?" Sawyer asked, standing up. Boone stood up as well and hurried over to help her. She sat back and held out her ankle.

"I think I hurt it again," she said with a light wince. "Ow! Yeah, I definitely hurt it again."

Stephanie had stopped in her tracks and was staring at Scarlett with absolutely no concern whatsoever. Boone started rolling up her pant leg. The ankle was still slightly swollen from when she had hurt it before. How long had it been? Scarlett didn't remember. At the moment, she didn't really care.

"It's swelling," Boone said. "Sawyer, do you have any bandages?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said. "Come on, get her up, and let's move her to my place."

Together, they managed to haul Scarlett up, and started pulling her towards Sawyer's shelter. Once they were behind the concealing tent-flaps, Scarlett burst out laughing. Boone and Sawyer looked at her as if _she _was the one bordering drunk at noon.

"What's so funny, Sox?" Sawyer asked indignantly. Scarlett just shook her head.

"I was saving your ass _and _your liquor supply," she said pointedly. "Stephanie was heading over. And you _know _she would have said something to anyone, just to get me in trouble."

"Stephanie?" Boone said, and he actually paled for a moment before his cheeks retained their intoxicated red glow.

"Oh, shit," Sawyer said darkly. "She didn't see us, did she?"

Scarlett refrained from mentioning that they had been sitting in broad daylight, drinking and laughing loud enough to attract the entire camp. They _had _been sitting in a pretty secluded area. She just hoped that no one had seen anything. That could get the both of them into a lot of trouble with Jack. Somehow, she had a feeling he wouldn't be too happy to know that Sawyer had found the liquor cart before him, or that he was using it for something clearly _other _than typical medicinal purposes.

"No," she said instead. "Though my little fake injury certainly seems to have sobered you two up some."

"You scared us," Boone laughed. "Really."

He looked at her kindly, and she tried not to remember the way he had looked at her in the dream when Locke had fired that last, fatal bullet into his back. _Tell Shannon…_he had said. _Tell Scarlett…_Tell them what?

She looked away, but that only led her to looking at Sawyer, and she tried not to think of how he had cried when Boone was dying. The thought of Sawyer crying, now that she was safe in the light, was too ridiculous to even comprehend, but it had definitely been real the night before.

"I'm going for a walk," she muttered under her breath. She stood up and walked out of the tent moodily, leaving Sawyer and Boone both wondering what the hell that was all about.

* * *

She wandered around for a while, before she eventually just sat down and looked out at the waves. She liked the waves. She remembered the first day, when she had sat there and watched the waves and the people until Charlie had approached her to talk to her. And then Claire…

It all seemed to long ago. Days on the island seemed to stretch out into weeks. Sometimes it seemed like they had been there forever. She couldn't remember when she had stopped waiting for the rescue boats to come…

* * *

_"So why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett stared at the woman who was to be her mother moodily. _

_"What is there to tell?" she asked. _

_"Do you have a boyfriend?"_

_"Yes."_

_"What's his name?"_

_"Stephen," Scarlett said slowly. "His name is Stephen."_

_"How old is Stephen?" Carrie asked politely. _

_"Twenty," Scarlett said stoically. Carrie smiled. _

_"Wow," she said. "Well, I'm not surprised. You're a very pretty girl, Scarlett."_

_Scarlett wasn't expecting that. She just shrugged. _

_"Thanks," she said. _

_"Your mother was always the prettiest of all of us," Carrie said wistfully. She looked at Scarlett, and Scarlett saw that she had tears glimmering in her eyes. For the first time since her mother died, Scarlett didn't feel that angry white-hot pain flare up inside her whenever anyone else started to cry. For once, she didn't flare up with anger. She only looked down at the ground and found the back of her throat tickling with the effort of not losing it. "She was such a great friend. And such a great mother."_

_"How come I never met you before?" Scarlett asked, her voice tiny so she wouldn't cry. She couldn't cry. "How come my mother never told me about you?"_

_"We had a falling out a while back," Carrie said, looking slightly ashamed. "When she was going to marry Mark, I was set against it."_

_Looking at Scarlett's face, no one would have seen the fear that was just behind the surface at the sound of his name. Her heart began to beat faster, and her palms began to sweat._

_"Why?" she asked tremulously._

_"Because he was just like Mike," Carrie said, looking slightly disturbed. "I could tell. He was just like Mike."_

_Mike was her fake daddy. The one who 'went away forever' when she was eight. Her mother never told her about him or about her real daddy, but she could only assume that Mike wasn't as nice as she had thought. Just like Mark. _

_"Why were you mad?" Scarlett asked. _

_"Because I thought that Lucie had to be strong," Carrie said sharply, and Scarlett found herself actually looking into the woman's eyes. "I thought that she had to get away from him and find someone who would love her and not abuse her. Someone who really, truly cared."_

_Scarlett looked at the woman, trying not to let her respect show through the stony mask. Those were her exact thoughts. Her mother had been her hero, but she had a certain weakness. And that weakness was men. That had always bothered Scarlett. Always. And it was a relief to find someone who finally agreed with her. _

_"Yeah," she said. "I thought that too."_

_Carrie looked at her, and she looked at Carrie, and they both smiled. For the first time in her life, Scarlett had a sense of hope for herself. Maybe things would turn out all right after all.

* * *

_

"Hey."

Kate sat down beside Scarlett with a small, hesitant smile. If Boone was a puppy, then Kate was a rabbit; timid and afraid. Of course, Kate didn't seem too afraid of anything except maybe actual human contact.

"Hey," Scarlett replied, smiling at the other woman. "What's up?"

"I saw you fall earlier," Kate said with concern. "Are you all right?"

Scarlett couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, that," she said, grinning. Kate just looked at her, confused. "I didn't really fall."

"I don't get it," Kate said, arching an eyebrow questioningly.

"Stephanie was walking up to Boone and Sawyer, who were both, well, sort of drunk, and I had to do something. If she had seen them, she would have said something to Jack, and they would have gotten into a lot of trouble." She started to laugh, before she remembered who she was talking to. She looked at Kate nervously. "_You _won't tell Jack, will you?"

Kate laughed and shook her head.

"I won't tell him," she said. She gave Scarlett a little grin. "At least, not if you show me them. This, I _have _to see!"

"Oh, of course!" Scarlett laughed, standing up and giving the other woman a hand. Kate took it and stood up slowly. Scarlett led her towards Sawyer's shelter.

"I mean…Sawyer, I can see getting drunk," Kate said with a laugh. "I mean…come on! It's Sawyer! But Boone? The man's like…mister perfect."

Scarlett remembered that Shannon had said something alone those lines, and she grinned.

"They're really quite cute when drunk," she said in the tone that mothers usually use when speaking to one another as they watch their children play in the sandbox. As they drew nearer, they could hear the sounds of Sawyer and Boone laughing loudly in a manner that could only mean they were quite possibly more drunk than when she left them. Kate looked at Scarlett with an expression of extreme surprise.

"Is that…them?" she asked with a tiny smirk that she tried to fight down. Scarlett smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said, grinning. They walked around the other side of the shelter to see that they had gotten into the alcohol again. Sawyer was currently chugging a bottle. Boone looked sick.

"I don't feel good," he announced. He made a face, looking very much like an injured small child. Scarlett smiled at him and shook her head. Kate laughed.

"What you laughin' at, Freckles?" Sawyer asked. He seemed to be perfectly fine, except that he was talking a little louder than he had to, and his cheeks were still glowing bright red. He laughed. "Drink?"

"Now, Sawyer," Kate said levelly. "I know _you _can hold your liquor, but you really should have thought twice before giving some of that to Boone. The boy obviously hasn't had much to drink in his life."

If she had expected Boone to get angry or defensive that this remark, she was sorely surprised. He just looked sick. Scarlett sighed and walked towards him, holding out her hands. He gazed at them stupidly for a few moments before grabbing them and allowing her to pull him up. He nearly stumbled, but Scarlett caught him and grabbed him around the waist to steady him. He made a face and she led him out into the concealing bushes that surrounded Sawyer's little haven.

As he vomited into the undergrowth, Scarlett expected herself to be disgusted, but she just stood beside him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"It's all right," she said softly, as if she were talking to a small, sick child. "Don't worry. It's okay."

Boone wiped his mouth and stood up, still looking a little woozy, but also looking like he felt a lot better. She smiled at him and he smiled lopsidedly back. A puppy. Always a puppy.

"Thanks," he said weakly.

"You okay?" she asked him quietly.

"Yeah," he said.

"You shouldn't have drunk that much," she said disapprovingly. He made a face and smiled a little bit.

"Sorry," he said abashedly. She laughed as he made his way back into the tent. Kate was still standing in the doorway. Sawyer had apparently passed out.

"Good," Scarlett said with a grin, walking Boone into the little tent. Sawyer lay on the floor, so Scarlett put Boone in one of the airplane seats. "We should let them rest. Boone, you stay here, okay?"

Boone looked at her with confusion for a long moment. Scarlett started to repeat herself, but then he nodded.

"Yeah," he said drowsily. "Stay here. Got it."

Scarlett turned and walked out of the shelter with Kate beside her. Both women were trying to hold in their giggles, but as soon as they had left Boone and Sawyer, they collapsed in the sand, laughing uproariously until their sides hurt. It was an odd sight for most of the people walking by, because neither woman was known for her happiness around camp.

When they finally stopped laughing and managed to wipe the tears from their eyes, they faced one another, still grinning broadly.

"What was _the _funniest thing I have ever seen," Kate said. "One moment Sawyer was making all these suggestive comments, you know, and then the next he was just out _cold_. It was _so _perfect!"

"At least you didn't have to clean up Boone's vomit!" Scarlett laughed. Kate started to giggle again, but managed to keep it together this time.

"Okay, you've got a point," she laughed. "At least I didn't have to do _that_."

They both had a good laugh once again, and then fell silent, chuckling from time to time.

"You won't tell Jack about this, right?" Scarlett asked nervously. "I really wouldn't want them to get into any trouble."

"Yeah, sure," Kate said, nodding. "Besides, it's not like Sawyer has _that much _of the alcohol."

Scarlett didn't say anything to contradict her. After all, he could easily have just found a few bottles lying around. It didn't necessarily mean that he had found the liquor cart. Of course, she had a distinct feeling that he _did _have it. Kate didn't have to know that. Jack didn't have to know it either.

"Yeah," she said with a grin. "Exactly. I still think Jack would get mad, though."

"Yeah, he would," Kate said, somewhat reluctantly.

"Speaking of Jack," Scarlett said casually. "What's the deal with the two of you? What's going on there?"

Kate smiled and looked out at the ocean. Scarlett watched her with an expectant grin.

"I don't know," she said after a while. "I mean…I think there might be something there, but I'm not sure. He keeps doing stuff that…I don't know. It's almost like he's pushing me away. You know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding slowly. "I do."

"What about you and Boone?" Kate asked, seeming happy to change the subject. "You two seem to be getting pretty close."

"Well, yeah, we're getting _close_," Scarlett said with a laugh. "But not _that _kind of close."

"I see," Kate said sarcastically, shaking her head. "Yeah, right."

"No, really!" Scarlett laughed. It was clear that Kate didn't believe her. She wasn't surprised. No one seemed to believe her. At least Kate wasn't intent on creating something with _Sawyer _that definitely wasn't there.

"Look," Kate said. "I don't know much about your relationship with Boone, but it certainly seems like there's something there."

"Kate…" Scarlett said warningly, but Kate cut her off.

"I'm just going to say that if you think there's something there, or if you want there to be something there, then I would go for it."

"Are you going to 'go for it'?" Scarlett asked with a small grin. Kate gave her a look.

"No," she said pointedly. "Because I'm not looking for anything right now."

"Neither am I," Scarlett replied.

"Yeah, well, I have a feeling that you _need _to be looking for someone," Kate retorted. Scarlett gave her a questioning glance, and Kate smiled abashedly. "I was talking to Claire the other day. She didn't really tell me much, but she hinted at something not so good. I've had my share of bad relationships, and I know that the best thing to do after something like that is to find a good one."

"Yeah…" Scarlett said slowly, but then she realized that she didn't really know what to say. "Well…I don't know. It's a really long story."

"We've got a long, long time," Kate said with a smile. "In fact right now we're doing absolutely nothing. You could tell me about it."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly again. She made a face and bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Kate looked at her sadly.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it," she said with a gentleness that Scarlett hadn't known existed in the other woman. "I can't…I can't really explain it to you…but I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else. More than Jack, more than Claire, more than Charlie…anyone. Because I can tell, just by looking at you, that you've been through at least some of the things I've been through. And that…that's comforting to me."

Scarlett looked at the other woman sadly. She could tell that Kate was in pain, thinking about her past. She could only wonder what had happened to her.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Scarlett considered, and Kate waited, and Scarlett knew that Kate would wait forever if she had to.

"I'll tell you," she said, at length. "But you have to promise me that when the time comes, then you'll tell me about you."

"When the time comes?" Kate asked, tilting her head to one side in question.

"When you need it most," Scarlett said slowly.

"Do you think _you _need it most right now?" Kate asked pointedly. Scarlett made a face.

"Actually…" she said slowly. "No."

"Do you want to wait?"

Kate, who had been full of burning questions earlier, suddenly found herself thinking that maybe now _wasn't _the right time. They had to wait for the opportune moment so that the impact would be more…real.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling slowly. "When I feel like I need it…when I need it most…then I'll tell you. About my past. The relationship I've had that's making me confused like this. ."

"And I'll tell you about me when _I _need it most," Kate continued. "And when you tell me, I'll try to help you."

"And I, you," Scarlett said seriously. Kate stuck out her hand, and Scarlett shook it with a smile. Then they just sat back and watched the waves like they both always seemed to end up doing. When both of them looked back on that moment; the eye before the storm, they would think that it was so strange how they could be so completely oblivious to the earth-shattering days that were to follow, which would change their lives forever.

* * *

Scarlett made her way back to the caves when it was just starting to get dark, and managed to get there before the light was too far-gone for her to see. Claire was already sleeping when she got to her sleeping spot, and she didn't see Charlie anywhere nearby. Still in a thoughtful mood, Scarlett pulled out her diary.

* * *

_Today, Boone and Sawyer got drunk. It was wicked funny, but it could have turned out bad, because old stick-up-his-ass Jack would have gone ballistic if he knew Sawyer had the liquor cart. _

_Anyway, to make a long story short, me and Kate got to talking, and I got to thinking. Kate said that it sounded as if I needed someone new in my life. (She suggested Boone.) Now, I totally rejected this idea, of course. I mean…I still love Stephen!_

_But do I? Now, that's the real question. Part of me just wants to be back in his arms, safe and happy…but another part of me knows that 'safe' and 'happy' don't last long with Mr. Stephen Martin. _

_So what do I do? Throw myself at HIM (You know who HE is. No need to use HIS name.) I mean…yes, I do think I have a crush…but a crush is a CRUSH goddammit, and not LOVE!_

_Only… I really can't stop thinking about him. He's constantly on my mind. I'll be sitting and talking with Claire, and all of a sudden will think, "I wonder what HE is doing."_

_I just. Don't. Know. I really don't. What to do, what to do. _

_I remember something that Claire said a while ago. She said that it would be good for me to have someone to be warm and safe with. Now, I have to admit that being wrapped up in HIS arms at night would probably help me feel a lot safer than I do right now._

_Oh well._

_I'm off to bed. Tomorrow, down to the beach to stalk HIM. _

_Night._

_Scarlett.

* * *

_

Scarlett put the pen in her book and slipped it into the pocket of one of her bags. Then, she lay down and closed her eyes.

* * *

**Next chapter:**

_(Shot of Scarlett's closed eye) _

**Claire: (O.C., screaming) **Help me!

_(Scarlett's eye flies open. Cut to Charlie grabbing Claire's hands. Her palms are covered in blood. Cut to Scarlett, staring at it with horror. Show a quick flash of Boone and Claire standing next to each other, and Claire holding out her palms, which are covered in blood, obviously from a dream.)_

**Charlie: (V.O.) **Claire…what happened?

_(Cut to Boone hurrying towards Scarlett in the forest)_

**Boone: **Is she okay?

**Scarlett: **Yeah. Just a dream

_(Cut to Claire sitting up and screaming again. Jack, Michael, and Ethan run up. Claire is sobbing.)_

**Charlie: **Someone attacked her!

_(Shot of Scarlett looking terrified. Shot of Hurley.)_

**Jack: **What…?

**Claire: **He was trying to hurt my baby!

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	31. Raised By Another Part 3

Okay! So here it is! An update!

No rant for me today, hehehe. Right now, as I start editing this…its 11:42 at night. I have better things to be doing! Hahahaha, like what? Hmmm…talking to my incomniac pals who are on AIM alllllll the time! Like the one and only real life Stephen Martin!

**Edit: **11:49…my leg itches. Just thought I'd let everyone know! Hahaha! I was in the woods tonight playing Sardines with my neighborhood pals and my friends, the strippers (oooh la la). I hope I didn't get poison Ivy! I'm like…wicked allergic to poison ivy! Eek! That would suck. Poison ivy and folliculitis together probably isn't a good thing…anyway, back to editing!

My reviewersawesome!

So get your asses reviewing! New reviewers get club jackets!

**Miss Dior: **Drunk Boone and Sawyer are so adorable, hahaha. Precious is exactly the word! And yeah, Kate and Scarlett really _can _relate to each other on so many levels. I never really realized it before I started writing the scenes with them. They both have so many horrible things in their pasts!

Hehehe, I knew I would make people more curious with the diary entry. I was going for that! I made certain to not give anything away, by using 'he'. Heck yes!

Oh yes, Scarlett's episode chapters are very interesting indeed! The flashbacks reveal a lot about herself too, so that's good!

Ugh…work! Hahaha!

Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Hahaha, I never would have pictured Boone drunk either, but it's kinda cute, actually! I pictured him as more of a quiet, disoriented drunk, while Sawyer's the loud, obnoxious drunk. Them becoming friends was something that I thought of after Boone died, and Sawyer actually looked upset at his funeral. I thought it was sad that they never got to be friends, so I wanted to make them friends in my story! Hehe!

Thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Haha, I love Sawyer and Boone. They're so cute! And yeah, Scarlett really was being pretty smart! Nice job of her to pretend that she hurt her ankle again. The girl's got SOME brains in her! Awwwww, Boone the puppy! Ever sense I first thought of that reference, I was like 'huh…he really is like…always like a puppy!' A sexy puppy of course!

Yeah, I think Kate and Scarlett really need to talk things over with their little past. I have it all figured out when Scarlett's going to talk to Kate about hers, but I'm not quite sure when Kate will talk to Scarlett. It may be a while down the road. I'm not quite sure yet…

Omg…everytime I look at my story, I get so excited because I have so many reviews! I've never had that many reviews, even for my other three loooong stories, which did pretty good, I think, considering their content! Eeeeeee YAY!

Thanks for reviewing!

**KnightoftheRoundTable: **Hehehe, I update after three or four days usually, so I can get ahead of the game!

And I ain't gonna say anything about Scarlett and Boone or Scarlett and Sawyer (teehee, big secret!) But…I am a Skater fan! So I think that serious relationships do exist in Sawerland. Of course, I'm not saying that serious relationships don't last in Boonesworld! They're there too!

Again…big secret! Hehehehe!

Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **Heck no I'm not stopping the story! Hahaha, I haven't even gotten to the hook-up part! Eek! Hahahaha, Scarlett probably didn't find taking care of Boone so cute. She was probably prettyyy grossed out by that bit!

You'll find out who HE is rather soon!

Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **No scary dreams? Well then there's gotta be one in here…checks Yup! Two dreams and a flashback! Heck yes!

Ugh, why am I the only one! Sooo not fair! Oh well…this story is going to have song lyrics in it anyway. Scarlett likes to sing, so Scarlett is going to sing. Teehee!

Hahaha, I write 'he' in my diary too! My little sister thinks she's being sneaky, and she reads my diary, so I always say 'he' so she won't know who I'm talking about!

Sawyer and Boone are both very protective of Scarlett, which is wicked cute! Hahaha, nice job skipping that paragraph! And, oooh yes, Mrs. Peterson and Scarlett are a big part of this story later on.

Thanks for the review!

**LeoChris: **Awwww, yay! You read my story! Hahaha. Ewwww evil Locke! I don't like that man!

I don't post it up to Hearts and Minds because I like to be ahead of my posts. When I was writing my King Arthur stories, I was writing it as I went along, and if I had writers block or something, then the story wouldn't get updated for a very long time. This way, I have the next ten chapters or so ready for me in case I don't get the chance to write for a while! It's just me wanting to be safe! Hahaha!

Oh yeah, Rose comes back. She's like…the voice of reason through a lot of this, hahaha. She comes back around…episode 12, I think, and then will probably make an appearance in Do No Harm, and probably some in between. I really liked Rose on the show, so I think I'll add her in my story if I can remember to! Hahaha!

Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **Heck yes, I remembered again!

Yeah! My story's gone! That made me SO mad, because I actually liked that one! And that's saying a lot when I like one of my own stories! I'm thinking of making just a little free website to put all of my stories on. Hmmm…quite possibly!

OMG, your road trip sounds soooo cool! I love the ocean too, but I'm terribly afraid of sharks, so I never go in too deep! Hahaha! You're so lucky you're always near it! And…wow, I REALLY want to go to Europe. I've wanted to go for some time now. We almost went to Italy once…but then we couldn't, for some reason. I can't remember why. Norway? Holy cool! If I ever visit, I'll _definitely _let you know!

Hahaha, everyone is so friendly in my story now. Kate and Scarlett, Boone and Sawyer…it's just one big circle of love. At least…for now…not for long! Hahaha! And as for the diary? Welllll, you'll just have to wait and see! It won't be long. I promise!

I hope you have an amazing summer too!

I loooove relaxing…but at times I do exciting things too! Hahaha! Like playing manhunt. Now THAT'S exciting! Ewwww….school! Ahhhh save me! Haha, I HATE school. Junior year this year, which means AP classes. I don't even know how the heck I got into 2 flipping AP classes. I don't pay attention, I do almost all my homework in other classes, and I honestly don't try my hardest on _anything_. And yet, AP classes. I just don't get it!

Hahaha, I so don't think you're a freak! If anyone's a freak, I'm a freak! But I love being a freak, so that's all right! You're welcome for the tip! I just thought about what I base all of my screennames and user names and such on.

Thanks for the review!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Ugghhh, Stephen needs to get out of her brain, I agree! He's such a jerk! Anyone can see that! I told my friend who he's based on the other day about him. We were talking about writing, and I just brought it up. He thought it was wicked funny, but was also a bit insulted! Hehe! Thanks for the review!

**Whoooooo, I got a story for ya'll! **

Okay…well, I was writing my response for **WhatsGoingOn**'s review, and I decided to tell you all the story! Okay…so I was talking to my friend…we'll call him Hot, because he's hot! Hahaha! So anyway, I was talking to um…Hot, and we were talking about writing. So I decided to tell him about Stephen being based on him. The conversation was sooo funny, so I decided to share it! (Notice that I'm the only one who uses correct punctuation? Hahaha, I'm such a dork on AIM! I love it!)

Him: so what are you writing now?

Me: A long _ass _story! Hahaha!

Him: lol whats it about?

(Note…this kid doesn't watch Lost, but he knows I'm obsessed, haha. Naturally. You can't be my friend without knowing that I'm obsessed with Lost!)

Me: Take a guess!

Him: hmmmm I wonder.. im gonna go out and say just maybe its..lost?

Me: Yup! You'd be happy to know that there's a character in it that I based on you!

Him: really? awwww youre so sweet

Me: Hehe, kinda

Him: what do you mean kinda?

Me: He's an abusive asshole.

Him: o….thanks?

Me: But he's wicked hot!

Him: baahahaha not based on me at all Julia!

(This kid thinks he's ugly. I want to strangle him everytime he says it! He's gorgeous!)

Yeah…that made my life. And later on, he brought it up at my friend's house, and sometimes he calls himself "Stephen the abusive asshole". I love that kid!

Okay…story done! On with the reaaallll story!

* * *

**Raised By Another (3): **An Attack

_"Scarlett!"_

_Scarlett looked up from her diary writing and saw Boone and Claire walking towards her. Boone held a bundle in his arms that was suspiciously baby-shaped. Both of them were crying. _

_"What is it?" Scarlett asked, her brow furrowing as she stood up. _

_Claire held out her hands wordlessly. Blood stained them. _

_"Why did you do it?" she asked accusingly. _

_"What did I do?" Scarlett asked with a piercing fear. Boone held out the bundle. _

_"He's yours," he said gently. Claire looked away. Scarlett looked at the bundle, where the head of the baby would be, but instead there was blood. So much blood. She screamed and flung it away from her. _

_"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What is that?"_

_"He's yours," Boone repeated gently. _

_"Looks like you stuck to your promise, eh Sox?"_

_Scarlett turned around and saw Sawyer holding a baby of his own. Boone looked at him enviously. _

_"What promise?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow. _

_"Ask him," Sawyer replied with a head-gesture towards Boone. _

_Scarlett looked towards Boone. He just looked at the ground. _

_"I told you not to," he whispered. "I told you not to."_

_And then he looked up, and Scarlett saw that he was crying. Sawyer walked up and looked at Claire. _

_"Does she know?" he asked. Claire was shaking badly, staring at her bloody hands. "Hey, Claire!"_

_Claire's head snapped up, and Scarlett saw with a gasp of horror that her friend was crying blood. She started to back away and tripped over a root in the ground. Boone lurched out to catch her, but it was too late, and she was falling. _

_She fell and fell into a black hole of nothingness that was dreamless sleep. And then, through the silence, cut a scream like a knife, cutting the delicate thread of peace. And the scream was the one that Scarlett had heard in all of her dreams since crashing on the island. _

_"Help me!"

* * *

_

The scream woke her from her nightmare, and Scarlett was startled so badly that she literally convulsed, hitting her head on the hard rock floor. With a groan of pain, she staggered to her feet and finally was able to register what was going on.

Claire was at least ten feet away from her sleeping space next to Scarlett's, just standing there and screaming with her hands held up in front of her as if she was reading something written on them. Charlie appeared at her side and tried to calm her, but she fought him bitterly, still half asleep and still screaming.

Jack ran up with Michael and Ethan and Hurley, all four of them seemingly terrified. Charlie had managed to get Claire somewhat under control, but she was still sobbing hysterically. He held her hands and said something to her that Scarlett couldn't hear. Then she saw him looking at her hands, and Scarlett noticed with a jolt of shock and utter terror that they were covered in blood.

"Claire…" Charlie said slowly, looking absolutely horrified as well. "What happened?"

* * *

Jack led Claire off to be taken care of, and Scarlett sat down in her bed with her brain full of weird things to think about. Was it a coincidence that Claire had dug her nails into her palms from the fear of a frightening dream on the same night that Scarlett had dreamed that her friend's hands were covered in blood? She knew that Jack (among others) would say that it was just a coincidence, and that there was nothing to worry about, but Scarlett had a feeling that it wasn't simply chance.

She couldn't shake that feeling of foreboding that her dreams always seemed to bring. It was just terrifying to her that the signs were all there, in her dreams, but she couldn't read them. For example, in the dream she had just had, she thought the blood was from the blood in the blanket, and hadn't even considered that it could be a self-inflicted injury.

To think of all the other signs in there, she shuddered. Boone dying? Did that mean that Boone was going to die? Or was there some other meaning in there. Was she and Boone's friendship going to die? Well if that was the case, then why had she and Sawyer cried when it happened? And what would the blood in the blanket mean? What about the child in Sawyer's arms? What about the promise? What was that?

Fervently wishing that she never had to sleep again, Scarlett gently lay down and resolved to wait for Claire to return to bed. However, the moment her head hit the tiny flight pillow, she was fast asleep, and there was not a dream in sight.

* * *

The next morning, which was only really a few hours later, Scarlett woke up to find that Claire was being tended to by Jack again. He was re-bandaging the cuts on her palm. Scarlett stood up Claire looked upset.

"That must have been a hell of a nightmare," Jack commented lightly.

"Who said it was a nightmare?" Claire asked with some bitterness.

"I'd say when someone makes their fists so tight they dig their fingernails a quarter of an inch into their palm, they probably weren't dreaming about ponies. Did you ever sleep-walk before?"

Scarlett didn't stay to hear anything more. She turned and started to walk down towards the beach, her eyes swimming with tiredness. She had forgotten most of the thoughts she had been having about the dreams the night before, and she was only worried about Claire's dreams and what they might contain. (Though she knew perfectly well that her own dreams were certainly cause for concern.) She wondered if Claire's dream had meant something. She wondered who was in it, and what happened to make her so afraid. She hoped it wasn't anything _bad_, though that was a silly thing to think. If it wasn't _bad_, then Claire wouldn't have been so frightened.

"Hey."

Scarlett whirled around and saw Eddie walking towards her with Jeff by his side.

"Hey," Scarlett replied with a small smile.

"I heard about Claire," Eddie said easily. "I was down at the beach last night, but Hurley came down today to tell us all about it. Is she okay?"

"She's scared," Scarlett said with a shrug. "I actually haven't spoken to her yet. Jack's been flocking around her every time I see her, and I don't want to add to her stress by asking her all these questions." She shrugged a second time. Jeff nodded.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "That was pretty scary last night though. She looked really terrified."

"Yeah," Scarlett said sadly. "Yeah, she did."

Suddenly, Boone came around the bend in the path, hurrying when he saw Scarlett.

"Is she okay?" he asked nervously. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay," Boone said with a relieved sigh. "Hurley was telling me that she woke up screaming, and that her hands were all bloody, but he didn't say what was wrong."

"Just a dream," Scarlett said reassuringly. "She's okay."

"Good," Boone said, sighing again. "That really nearly gave me a heart attack."

"It's good that you care, though," Scarlett said with a smile. "That's good."

"Yeah," Boone said, shrugging. "I'm just glad she's okay."

"You wanna come to the caves?" Scarlett asked. "I know Claire will want to see you. Jeff? Eddie? You coming?"

"Yeah," all three men said, and the four of them started walking, chatting companionably.

* * *

_"Carrie?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Carrie looked up from the photo album she was showing Scarlett. Scarlett bit her lip nervously. _

_"I have a question," she said slowly. "What happened to my dad? My…step dad. Mike. What happened to him? Who was my real dad?"_

_"Your real dad was a man…a con man, I'm assuming, who got your mother to fall in love with him. He left her after a while, and she married Mike and moved up to Boston. After she moved up there, he got in touch with her again. She loved Mike, but she loved this man too, and so she had an affair, producing you."_

_"So my dad isn't the same as Anthony's?" Scarlett asked. "Me and Anthony used to think that maybe mom had an affair with Anthony's father again."_

_"No," Carrie said sadly, shaking her head. "That was Charles Miller, her high school sweetheart. He died in a car accident before Anthony was born. I think that might be why your mom had such bad luck with love after that…anyway, back to the story. Your mom and this man…your dad, had an affair for a long time, until he tried conning Mike out of some money, using your mother to try and sneak some of it away from him. I think he wanted her to say it was for your college fund. Mike saw right through the scam, though, and somehow found out that he wasn't your real father, and he went after your mother, who was home at the time with you. He tried to kill her, but _she_ ended up killing _him_."_

_Scarlett remembered the blood all over her mother's head, and how she had been shaking as she sat at the kitchen table. Her mother had killed her first husband, and her daughter had killed her second. How ironic._

_"She deserved so much better than what she got," Scarlett said sadly. "I always used to think…maybe the reason she could never find a good man was because she was too good herself."_

_Carrie looked at her sadly and then nodded so slowly. _

_"I used to think the exact same thing," she murmured softly, and then she reached out and gently hugged Scarlett. "I'm not trying to replace your mother, Scarlett. I just want to be your friend. Do you think we could handle that?"_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling slightly through her gathering tears. "Yeah, I could."_

_"Good," Carrie cooed. "And we'll be great friends, Scarlett."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said softly, and she suddenly felt light and happy. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

* * *

_

Scarlett and Boone reached the caves ahead of Jeff and Eddie, because the other two men had decided to stop and talk to someone named Alicia who they apparently knew. When they got there, Claire was sitting alone at her sleeping spot, looking sad. When she saw Scarlett and Boone, however, she seemed slightly happier.

"Hey!" she said, smiling. "I was wondering where you were."

"I was just going to get Boone," Scarlett said, grinning. "But he met me halfway. He was really worried."

"Yeah," Boone said.

"Thanks," Claire said with a small smile. "Though there's nothing to worry about. It was just a dream."

Her tone greatly contradicted her words, so Scarlett and Boone sat down in front of her after glancing at one another.

"What was it about?" Scarlett asked.

"I don't know, actually," Claire said slowly. "I don't remember much about it. I remember I was standing in front of a cradle. Like…a crib? And there was this baby crying, but when I moved aside the blankets…it was all blood."

Scarlett gave a little jolt of surprise. Claire noticed.

"There was something like that in my dream last night," Scarlett explained. Boone looked at her in surprise.

"Me too," he said slowly. Scarlett looked at him warily, as if she thought he might be telling a joke, but his expression was so terrified and awed that she dismissed that theory as soon as it popped into her head. She wanted to say something about Boone dying in her dream, but she wasn't sure if she should. Fortunately, Claire decided to say something.

"A couple of nights ago, I had this dream with you in it, Boone," she said slowly. "And you…died."

Scarlett looked at Boone and saw that he was looking back at her, sadly, his eyes questioning.

"I've had several," she said softly.

"What do you mean…I died?" Boone asked, his brow furrowing.

"You just…were, in mine," Claire said. "I didn't see how. Scarlett was cradling your body, and she was crying and kissing your hair…" She trailed off and shook her head. Scarlett looked at her in surprise. Claire had never told her about this dream. Boone looked at the ground, biting the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "And you were trying to talk, but you couldn't…and then you just died." She drew in a shuddering breath. "It was too real."

"I had one," Boone said quietly. "A little like that."

"How do you mean?" Claire asked, as Scarlett sat there quietly.

"I died in her arms," Boone replied, gesturing towards Scarlett with a small, sad smile. "While you watched on, looking absolutely _terrified_."

"Have you had one like that, Scarlett?"

"Not quite like it, but Boone's died in my arms a number of times," she said quietly.

"Do you…do you think it means anything?" Boone asked, looking genuinely frightened. Claire shrugged.

"I don't think so," Scarlett said quickly, before Claire could say anything. "It's probably metaphorical or something. Like something of Boone's is going to die. His feelings for something or someone…his attitude towards something, his resistance to something, something like that."

Everyone just looked at her, eyebrows arched.

"You think?" Claire asked after a short pause.

"My mom used to be really into stuff like this," Scarlett said in reply. "She said that often something that happens in a dream isn't literal. She said it was metaphorical."

"Oh," Boone said. "So something…in me is going to die?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. "It could even be a good thing."

"Then why were you crying?" Boone asked. Scarlett blinked a few times, and then shrugged.

"Maybe it's good for you, but bad for me. Maybe our friendship is killed."

"Not gonna happen," Boone retorted with a small smirk.

"That's what I've been thinking since the dreams started, though," Scarlett continued. "It makes the most sense."

No one wanted to say it, but it was clear that everyone was thinking it. It made the most sense…other than the theory that Boone was just going to die.

* * *

That night, after Boone had gone back to the beach, Scarlett sat awake, writing in her diary by the light of the fire. Claire was already sleeping, but Scarlett wanted to get her thoughts written down.

When she was done, she gently set it aside and curled up, facing the fire, listening to the sound of her own breathing and Claire's. Claire shifted and murmured something in her sleep. That was oddly comforting to Scarlett, and moments later, she softly drifted to sleep.

* * *

_"Scarlett?"_

_Boone's tired voice reached her ears, and Scarlett turned around, looking for him. She was in that clearing with the white flowers again. He entered the clearing, shaking and looking afraid._

_"What is it?" she asked, stepping forward nervously. He walked up to her and took her hands, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath._

_"I need to tell you something," he said. Scarlett looked at him warily, waiting for him to begin. He drew in another shuddering breath, then opened his mouth and prepared to speak. _

_However, he never got to say it, because the familiar metallic roar of that monster in the woods cut him off. He started and pulled her into the center of the clearing. _

_"We have to run," Scarlett panted fearfully, but Boone shook his head. _

_"No," he said quickly. "We're safe here. It's all right. We're safe here."_

_The monster roared just beyond the trees, and Scarlett backed away, tripping and falling onto her back. Suddenly, Stephen leapt out of nowhere and tackled Boone, knocking him to the ground painfully. Scarlett screamed and jumped up. _

_"Scarlett!"_

_Scarlett whirled around with surprise and saw Sawyer standing behind her, holding a gun. He tossed it to her lightly, and she caught it and flicked the safety off just as if she had been using a gun her entire life. Then, she fired, and smiled as the expression of pain came over Stephen's face. He fell to the ground, staring at her incredulously._

_Sawyer helped Boone up, draping his arm across the other man's shoulders. The monster started roaring again, but this time, Scarlett wasn't afraid anymore. She just smiled and hugged Sawyer and Boone, respectively._

_"Now, Boone," she said, wiping the blood off his arm. "What is it you were going to tell me?"_

_Boone's answer was cut off by a horrified scream._

_"Help me!"

* * *

Scarlett jolted awake, once again hitting her head on the cave floor and swearing aloud angrily. Claire screamed again, and Scarlett felt a great sense of foreboding fill her. She leapt to her feet, just in time to see Charlie rush over to Claire._

"Somebody's going to hurt me!" Claire screamed. "Please, help me!"

"Someone attacked her!" Charlie exclaimed. Scarlett made her way over slowly, looking around for any signs of attack.

"What?" Jack asked.

"He held me down," Claire sobbed. Scarlett put a hand over her mouth with horror.

"Which way did he go?" Michael asked. "How long ago?"

"I don't know. I couldn't see. Just now, just now." She gave another heavy sob, and then clutched at her stomach. "He just ran away."

Hurley ran up from behind Scarlett, looking horrified. Scarlett felt sick. She stood next to Claire and rubbed the other woman's back comfortingly. Claire looked at her with appreciation.

"What's going on?" Hurley asked as Ethan ran up as well.

"We should find out, check the surrounding caves."

"Hey, wait, wait…" Jack said. "Hold on, don't go…"

"Hurley, let's go," Charlie said, completely ignoring Jack. He and Hurley took off. Jack tried not to look completely pissed off, but it wasn't working. Scarlett spotted Jeff watching, looking horrified. Alicia was there too.

"Come on, come on," Jack said to Claire gently. "Let's sit down here, okay?" Claire nodded and sat down, still sobbing. Scarlett sat with her. Jack turned to Ethan, who looked positively scared out of his mind. "Go get her some water."

"Yeah, sure," Ethan said, taking off. Jack turned back to Claire.

"Claire, look at me, its okay. You're safe now," he said gently.

"Did you get a look at him, at all?" Michael asked, his brow furrowing nervously.

"No," Claire said, still crying. "It was dark. I couldn't see."

Scarlett couldn't help but think of that dark figure who had stood over her while she was pretending to be asleep.

"Where did this happen?" Jack asked.

"Here." Claire replied. "I…I was sleeping and woke up and…he was trying to hurt my baby. He had this thing like a…a needle. He stabbed me with it."

Here, Claire lifted up her shirt a little to stow her stomach. Scarlett bent closer to look, but didn't see any blood. That was definitely a good sign. Jack looked as well.

"I…" Scarlett began, but Claire's half-screaming sobs cut her off.

"He was trying to hurt my baby!"

"It's okay," Jack soothed. "It's okay."

"We won't let him hurt you," Michael said gently, and Scarlett gave a start of surprise remembering her dream when everyone had said the exact same thing. "You're safe now."

"Don't worry," Scarlett said numbly. "It's okay, Claire. It's okay."

Claire just sobbed, and Michael and Jack and Scarlett all looked at one another with fear written clearly in their eyes. The fact that someone had attacked her…it made them all wonder about how safe they really were.

After a few moments, Jack and Michael got up to go search, but Scarlett remained with the other woman, rubbing her hand over her back in slow circles.

"It's okay, Claire," she murmured softly. "It's okay."

"He tried to hurt my baby," Claire whispered, the fright in her tone sending shivers up Scarlett's spine. "What if he did? What if he hurt him?"

"He didn't," Scarlett replied with more confidence than she felt. She wrapped her arm around Claire's shoulder and pulled her into a gentle, soothing hug, letting the other girl rest against her. "He didn't."

"How do you know?" Claire asked, giving a little hiccupping sob, making herself comfortable. Scarlett pulled up Claire's blanket from the ground and spread it over she and Claire's knees.

"Because if he did, I would have killed him on the spot," she replied. Claire looked at her and smiled slightly.

* * *

They fell silent for a long moment, and then Scarlett gently began to hum something. Claire listened for a while, and then tilted her head to one side in question.

"What is that?" she asked. "It sounds familiar."

"It's an old song that my mother used to sing me when I was scared," she said with a small smile. "It would always make me feel better."

"What's it called?" Claire asked.

"Listen To Your Heart, by Roxette," Scarlett replied. "My mom's first husband used to sing it to her, so when he was gone, she sang it to me. It was sort of our…thing."

"Can you sing it?" Claire asked, a sad smile spreading over her face. Scarlett nodded and began to sing quietly, just loud enough so it would carry to Claire and no one else.

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile…I get a notion from the look in your eyes…You've built a love, but that love falls apart…Your little piece of heaven turns too dark…"

Claire was watching with her lips slightly parted and her hands held over her stomach.

"That's so pretty," she said. "Keep going. You've got a really good voice."

Scarlett smiled and kept going with the chorus, which she almost didn't want to sing. It reminded her too much of her own situation.

"Listen to your heart…When he's calling for you…Listen to your heart…There's nothing else you can do…I don't know where you're going…And I don't know why…But listen to your heart…Before…you tell him goodbye."

She trailed off as she noticed that Sun was watching her with a sad expression on her face. Scarlett wondered what her story was. She made it a goal to find out later, away from the prying eyes and ears of all the other survivors.

"Thank you," Claire said sweetly, smiling at Scarlett gently. "That made me feel so much better. You don't even know."

"I think I do," Scarlett replied with a small smile for the other woman. "It used to make me feel better too."

"It's such a beautiful song," Claire said, almost dreamily, and she sighed as she tightened her hold on her stomach. "I remember it from somewhere…I just don't remember exactly where." She shrugged and smiled at Scarlett. "It's hopeful. Weird, but it is."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small smile. "It is."

She and Claire smiled at each other, and then Claire shifted slightly, preparing to speak.

"I just…" she said slowly, then stopped, biting her lip and evidently trying to think of the right words to say. "Thank you. For staying here and for doing this for me. For…comforting me, I guess. Only you could have done it, you know."

Scarlett was touched at the words, and she grinned lightly.

"I try," she said quietly. Claire smiled.

"You know…" she said slowly. "I've had this image in my head for a while of…you know, of what it's going to be like here. At least…until rescues comes."

She said that last part as if it were an afterthought. And, Scarlett realized, it probably _was _an afterthought. Rescue was still just over the horizon for most people, but it was becoming more of an intangible dream than an actual future reality.

"What do you think it will be like?" she asked pleasantly, deciding that anything to get Claire's mind off of the attack was great stuff.

"Well, we'll build shelters, obviously, and we'll section off our own little areas of the caves to live in. Mine will have a rug made of leaves, shelves, and of course, a cradle. You and Boone will live right next to me…" Here, Claire trailed off into a fit of the giggles at the glare that Scarlett shot her.

"You know what…" Scarlett said warningly, but Claire just laughingly continued.

"And then Charlie will live next to me on the other side…"

"Not with you?" Scarlett asked teasingly. Claire blushed slightly.

"We're just friends," she said slowly, though the mumbling quality to her voice suggested that she might want to change that.

"Boone and I are just friends too," Scarlett responded.

"Yeah, but the way I see it…not for long," Claire laughed. Scarlett shook her head and laughed.

"You just won't give up, will you?" she asked.

"Not until I see the two of you together," Claire replied. Both girls laughed. Suddenly, Jack appeared.

"Scarlett," he said seriously. "I need to talk to you. Are you…okay? Claire?"

"Yeah, sure," Claire said, waving and pretending to be indifferent. "I don't mind."

Scarlett and Jack moved off to the other side of the caves, leaving Claire to sit alone and stare into the fire.

"Okay, Scarlett," Jack said slowly, drawing in a breath. "Did you see or hear anything?"

"No," Scarlett replied, shaking her head. "I was sleeping at the time, but Claire's screams woke me up."

"I know this is a really stupid question, but do you think that there was anyone who might want to do that to Claire? Any…enemies?"

"Claire has only one enemy, and that's Randy. And Randy's an enemy to everyone. Besides, I just can't see him doing something like that. He's not a horrible guy. He's just…bossy and arrogant. That's all."

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding. "I know what you mean. We'll still keep an eye on him. Did Claire say anything else?"

Scarlett thought for a moment and then shook her head slowly.

"No," she said. "Just that she was afraid that they hurt her baby."

Jack nodded and bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully.

"I looked at her stomach," he said after a while. "There was no mark there. Maybe I was just missing it…but I didn't see anything."

"I just don't get it," Scarlett said slowly. "I'm really scared for her, for the baby, and…well, for us. It just doesn't feel safe here anymore."

"Yeah," Jack said, shaking his head and running a hand over his head. "The entire perimeter has been searched, but it turned up nothing. I'm not too surprised actually. He…or she…must have ran off before we were ready."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, drawing her arms around herself tightly. She didn't like this feeling. It was like the first night on the island when she knew that that thing was in the woods, and she was forced to just go to sleep and pretend that there _wasn't _some giant, man-eating thing out there. It felt scary, and she didn't like it. "So what do we do?"

"Sleep now. Keep watch. Hope that nothing happens." Jack shrugged. "That's all we _can _do, I guess."

"Yeah." Scarlett nodded and looked back to Claire. Charlie was seated beside her, and he had put a blanket around her shoulders. Scarlett gave a small, sad smile and turned back to Jack. "We should probably alert all the people at the beach tomorrow."

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding. "We should do that. Hurley wants to start a census. You know, get everyone's name, age, physical description…all that stuff."

"That's a good idea," Scarlett said, nodding. "I mean…I don't know half the people around here. I keep meeting new people who I hadn't even seen before."

"Yeah," Jack said in agreement. "Me too. Plus, Hurley says it will help with the fighting we've been having."

"We've certainly been having a lot," Scarlett pointed out. Jack nodded again.

"Yeah," he said. "Definitely. And it needs to stop."

Scarlett refrained from pointing out that Jack had been in two incidents himself (torturing Sawyer and punching Sawyer _twice_.)

"Yeah," she said instead with a small smile.

"You should go back to sleep now," Jack said, putting a hand on her arm. "I don't see you getting much sleep. You go to bed late and wake up early."

"There's no way I'm going to be able to sleep now," Scarlett said with a humorless laugh. "I'll probably be up all night worrying."

Jack smiled as well, though there was no humor behind that either.

"You're not the only one," he said quietly, and Scarlett smiled and patted his arm reassuringly.

"Well at least I'm not alone," she said gently. He smiled at her, and the two of them parted ways. Scarlett sat down on her blankets, watching Charlie and Claire with a small smile playing on her lips. She knew that she wouldn't be sleeping, but it didn't bother her. Any excuse not to sleep was a good one.

* * *

When the sun finally rose, and Claire went off to her bed to actually sleep, Scarlett walked down to the beach with Jack. They mostly talked about Claire's attack, but when they were about three fourths of the way there, Jack asked her about the dreams.

"You were saying a while ago that you had weird dreams," he said casually. "And the other day Boone was asking me if I thought the dreams were cause for worry. He said that he had heard you crying one night from them…"

Scarlett smiled and looked at the ground, shaking her head slightly.

"He told you about that?" she asked.

"He was really worried," Jack said pointedly.

"I've always had really weird, bad dreams," Scarlett said with a small shrug. "These ones are worse, yeah, but my life in the past few weeks hasn't exactly been stress-free, you know?"

Jack nodded slightly.

"Yeah," he said. "If they get any worse, though, you can some to me, and I can give you a mild sedative that will let you sleep dream-free."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding. "If they get really bad, I might take you up on that offer."

Jack smiled at her, nodding.

"Good," he said. "Just know that the offer's always open."

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem."

In the long silence that followed, Scarlett considered telling him exactly what she dreamed about; with Boone dying and Claire screaming, but she decided against it. Jack didn't exactly seem like the type of person who would believe that dreams could coincide with real life. Most doctors weren't. Instead, she just let the silence grow and become more companionable than awkward.

By the time they reached the beach, both of them felt a lot more relaxed in each other's company, and they both smiled at each other before they moved away from one another, each with a different purpose in mind.

* * *

**Next chapter: **

_(Scarlett sees Sawyer smoking by the ocean and walks over.)_

**Scarlett: **Hey.

**Sawyer: **Hey, Sox.

**Scarlett: **What were you doing?

**Sawyer: **If Freckles was right about one thing this entire time out here, it was that the ocean works wonders if you're angry.

**Scarlett: **Why were you angry?

_(Sawyer shrugs moodily. Cut to Scarlett and Boone standing near Boone's stuff.)_

**Boone: **Me and Shannon are moving to the caves.

_(Scarlett smiles.)_

**Scarlett: **I'm glad.

(Scarlett and Boone walk down the path to the caves with Boone's stuff. Cut to Scarlett standing in the caves, looking around wildly. Boone stands near her. Kate and Jack stand not too far away.)

**Scarlett: **Where's Claire? _(pause) _Where's Claire!

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway.**


	32. Raised By Another Part 4

Well, here's the update!

Some good questions were asked by **Dark Syrinx**, and I figured I'd answer them all here. Yes, I will _definitely _continue into season 2 with Scarlett's story. I'm going to start a new story for it because this one is going to be extremely insanely long as it is, so I figure it'll be good to make a totally new one for season 2.

So yeah, that's it for now! Hahaha

Thanks to all of you who _did _review, and anyone else, feel free to join in the fun!

**Miss Dior: **This episode wasn't very fun to write, other than the Sawyer and Boone drunk part, of course! I'm gonna miss writing Claire and Scarlett scenes…but Do No Harm might be even worse! I still haven't decided what to do when it comes to that… Good thing I got a loooong way to go before there! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **Lucky Norway and their lack of sharks! I wish I lived in a shark-free zone! Actually…I'd still probably be afraid to go swimming, hahaha! I know it's only if they smell blood and all…but still I get nervous, just because the thought of being attacked by a shark is SOO scary to me! I'm not a big "pain" person, hahaha. I'm scared of like…everything remotely painful. And HOLY CRAP! You went swimming with a sharp that had teeth in its stomach? Ahh! I would have passed out for sure if that was me! Holy God, you're brave!  
Manhunt is wicked fun! Running is something that I'm actually pretty good at, though not for long distances at _all_. So it's perfect for me! I get to run for a little bit and catch people! Hehe!  
Thanks for the good luck with the AP. I'm actually quite frightened about this, hahaha. It's gonna be wicked hard!  
Thanks for the review!

**WhatGoingOn: **Ethan is most definitely a massive butthead! Though he used to be a cool guy, he's now officially NOT COOL! Hahaha, Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **Yeah, scary nightmares like that can most definitely be very scary! I have ones like that occasionally, though usually they're just weird!  
I still don't know what I'm going to do with Boone. Taking some artistic license and not killing Boone off is most definitely one of the options. Then again, so is just killing him. I have to think veryyy hard about this one!  
You'll find out who 'He' is in episode 12. That's only one away, and episode 11 is relatively short, compared to the others.  
"Listen To Your Heart" is definitely one of my favorite songs too! I absolutely love it! I was listening to it while writing that scene between Scarlett and Claire, so I decided to write it in.  
I think it might be a good assumption to make that her dad was the original Mr. Sawyer. I'm gonna see where the show takes that in season 2 to ultimately decide, though.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Think about how poor Boone must feel, since they're all having scary dreams about him drying! I'd be scared out of my mind if I was him! And yeah…Ethan's being a creep! Rrrrr!  
I loooove that song that she sang to Claire. It's such a pretty song, and it definitely fits with all of the stuff that's going on with them. Definitely Sun, too!  
Hahaha, I probably wouldn't be sleeping either. I'd be running to the beach to find Boone or Sawyer to comfort me ;)  
A dictionary by you would most definitely be AWESOME! Hahahaha! With awesome words like scaryness, it would be a hit!  
Thanks for the review!

**LeoChris: **This story better not get deleted because of the song! Even Scarlett credited it! Hahaha!  
I'd say that you were probably right in saying that the original Sawyer is Scarlett's father. Not Mr. James Sawyer Ford, of course, but the man who ruined his life. I'd say there's a fifty/fifty chance it's right ;)  
Thanks for reviewing!

**TotallyLost: **Awwww thanks for the kind words! They mean a lot! Hahaha, and I loved that little thing with Hot. He took it so seriously! He was in my other loooong story too, though at least in that one he was nice! Haha, I love that kid! (In fact…his picture is actually staring at me right now from my wall…and it's starting to creep me out!) Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Hehehe, you'll just have to wait and see who 'he' is! You'll find out eventually!  
Hahaha, I'm so weird about punctuation and stuff. I can't stand it when people are like 'omg!111 ilysfm!1 Smgts! U r leik my bffl!1!" It drives me INSANE! As my sister once said.. "It's like reading fucking Chinese!" My friend, the one I dubbed Hot, has a girlfriend who writes like that. In her profile it says "ilysm hot smgts! Ily babe!" You think she could write something like that out! Therefore, I always use proper punctuation and stuff.  
Hahahaha, omg…that's SUCH a weird coincidence with the genital warts ad, because I swear to God, no lie, that when I was typing the response to your review, a random porn ad popped up! I was like "what the…omg, get that away!" hahaha….wow, genital warts and porn…what next?  
Hahahaha, that guy on Lizzie Macquire kind of DOES remind me of Ethan too! I saw it was on the other day and turned it on to check it out and nearly died laughing! He seems so much like a younger, nicer Ethan!  
I don't like what's coming next either :( but it had to be done!  
Thanks for the review!

**LillyAngel: **Hahaha, wow…that is pretty ironic! I've had stuff like that happen to me before. Like when I'm talking to my friend online, almost always, the song that his screen name is based off of comes on. It really freaks me out! haha!  
As for Scarlett being related to the guy who killed Sawyer's parents…well, I'd say there's a good chance that you might be right there ;)Thanks for reviewing!

**Dark Syrinx: **You caught up! Yayay! Heck yes, I loooove King Arthur! And the Village! And Lost, of course! Before I started this story, I mostly wrote about King Arthur. I planned on starting an OC Village one…but I never got the chance to write it, sadly.  
I also agree that Jack is a poophead! I HATE Jack, hahaha. I seriously want to hit him everytime he comes on screen. He's always whining about something! Kate and Sawyer are definitely _way _cuter.  
Hahaha, don't worry…Jack won't be un-a-holey for long! Just wait! Scarlett's gonna be pissed at him before long!  
And hey…who said Boone's gonna die? ;) Well…I actually don't even know. I haven't made up my mind yet…  
Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Raised By Another (4): **Gone

As Jack walked towards Kate, Scarlett wandered around, looking for someone but not seeing them. When she spotted Sawyer standing by the ocean, smoking, she smiled and walked over.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, Sox," he replied, turning around to face her with a small grin.

"What were you doing?" Scarlett asked.

"If Freckles was right about one thing this entire time out here, it was that the ocean works wonders if you're angry."

"Why were you angry?" Scarlett asked, squinting up at him.

Sawyer shrugged moodily. Scarlett gave him a look.

"Don't give me that," she laughed. "There's _something _wrong. What is it?"

"I ain't telling _you_," Sawyer laughed. "You'd just go spreading it around to all the wrong people.

"And who might the wrong people be?" Scarlett asked with a small laugh.

"If I told you that, you'd pretty much figure it out," Sawyer grumbled. Scarlett didn't miss the glare that he shot Kate and Jack.

"Jealous?" Scarlett asked, eyebrows raised. Sawyer shot her a glare.

"No," he mumbled. Scarlett laughed.

"You are _so _jealous!" she exclaimed. Sawyer glared at her.

"You think whatever you want, sweetness," he said bitterly. "But you're wrong."

"I'm right," Scarlett said, narrowing her eyes at him. "And you know it."

"Whatever," Sawyer muttered. Scarlett laughed.

"You're like a little girl," she said, grinning at him. That just made him glare more. "Don't go getting all mad at me because I discovered your big 'secret'."

Another glare, and she shook her head and laughed again.

"I don't see what's so funny," he said bitterly.

"You're jealous, and it's funny," Scarlett responded promptly. "Why are you jealous of _Jack_? You could be so much better than him if only you were _nice _to Kate." She looked at him pointedly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him. "And don't try to tell me that you're 'not a nice guy', because I know for a fact that you _are_ a nice guy, and just don't want anyone to know it."

Sawyer just sighed.

"Look…" he started, but Scarlett just held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear it," she said, somehow managing to hold in the laugh that was threatening to burst forth from her. "I have stuff to do anyway."

"Fine," Sawyer mumbled. "See you later, Sox."

"Bye, Fluffy."

This time, Scarlett couldn't hold in the laughter, and she walked away, throwing her head back and laughing, missing the angry glare that Sawyer shot her, and the small smile that he just couldn't keep hidden.

* * *

_"Scarlett?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_Scarlett looked up from the book she was reading, smiling at Carrie pleasantly. Carrie had a huge smile on her face as well. Scarlett wondered why. _

_"I have some good news."_

_So that was why. Scarlett felt her heart rising in her chest, already excited for the good news even though she hadn't heard it yet. Carrie was a good judge of good news. Scarlett trusted that when Carrie said 'good news', that it _was _good news indeed. _

_"What?" Scarlett asked. She stood up slowly. _

_"I'm pregnant," Carrie said with excitement, clutching her stomach. Scarlett gasped with a happy smile, running to Carrie and hugging her. _

_"Are you really?" she asked with a happy smile. _

_"Yes!" Carrie exclaimed. "I am! Me and Dan found out this morning!"_

_Dan was Carrie's boyfriend, who she was planning on marrying eventually. They still lived apart, though, and Scarlett and Carrie had the house to themselves. Scarlett liked having it that way. Just she and Carrie. However, she would definitely welcome the change. She liked Dan._

_"That's so amazing!" she laughed. "Oh my gosh, Carrie! That's wonderful!"_

_"I know," Carrie replied, putting her hand to her stomach. "Oh God, Scarlett. It's the most amazing thing in the world, finding out you're pregnant."_

_Scarlett smiled and thought back to all the times when her mother had said the exact same thing. She had said it often, when Scarlett was younger. That was when she could still have children. She didn't talk about it anymore when she found out that she couldn't._

_"I'm so happy," Scarlett said gently, and the smile on Carrie's face showed that those three words meant more to her than anything else.

* * *

_

"Hey, uh…Scarlett?"

Scarlett turned around to see Hurley standing behind her, looking nervous.

"Yeah?" she asked with a small smile. "What's up?"

"Um…I just wanted to ask you a few questions for the census. You know…we're asking people their names and ages and stuff like that."

"Oh, right," Scarlett said, nodding. "Jack told me about that. Okay…what do you need?"

"Well, full name, first of all. Scarlett…what?"

"Meyers," Scarlett said with a small smile. "M-E-Y-E-R-S."

"Okay, thanks," Hurley said, writing it down. "Age?"

"Twenty-one," Scarlett replied pleasantly.

"Cool…now…Former place of residence?"

"Well…Australia for a year, but I was going back to LA to live."

"Okay, cool," Hurley said, and then he shrugged. "That's it. Thanks for not giving me a hard time. Some people get all mad when they're asked a few questions. It's getting on my nerves."

"Well, I think it's a great idea, Hurley," Scarlett said with a small smile. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No, it's okay," Hurley said abashedly. "I'm good. I just have to find Sawyer."

"Okay," Scarlett said, assuming that he just wanted to go ask him about his stuff. "Have you seen…"

"Scarlett!"

Scarlett laughed.

"Nevermind. See you later, Hurley."

Hurley waved and walked off, and Scarlett turned around just as Boone hurried up to her.

"Hey," he said. "Is Claire all right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied with a nod. "She's okay. She's scared, but she's okay."

"I found out from Hurley," Boone explained. "He said that she got attacked."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "We haven't been able to find out who did it."

"Did they put out a search?" Boone asked, making the wiggly eyebrow face as he was thinking.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding vehemently. "They weren't able to find anything."

Boone made a face and ran a hand through his hair, just like Jack had done the night before.

"I'm just glad she's okay," he said at last, looking pained. "Hurley really scared me for a minute."

"Yeah," Scarlett said sadly. "I can only imagine."

Boone smiled at her and she smiled back. There was a short pause, and then Boone broke it.

"Me and Shan are moving to the caves," he said. "Well…Shan doesn't want to after what happened to Claire, but she's gonna. I'm going and if she wants to follow, then she can."

Scarlett grinned at Boone and nodded.

"I'm glad," she said. "It's about time you finally decided to give it up and move with us!"

"Yeah," Boone laughed. "I decided that I was walking up to the caves and spending the entire day there almost every day anyway, so why not just move up there?"

"Good," Scarlett laughed. "No more really long walks back to the beach or the caves in the dark!"

"Yeah," Boone laughed. "At least…not alone. But are you sure Claire's okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "At least…when I last left her she was."

She tried not to think of the possibility that something could have happened to Claire in the hour she had been gone, but the thought crept up anyway. Boone noticed.

"Let's go to the caves, then," he said gently. She nodded.

"Yeah," she said. Boone had one big bag slung over his shoulder, and Scarlett looked around for all of his other stuff. "Is that it?" she asked him. "Anything I can carry?"

"I'm not you, Scarlett," Boone said teasingly. "I didn't bring everything I owned with me."

He arched an eyebrow, and she laughed.

"Hey," she said, pointing a finger at him. "It's a big bag."

"Not much bigger than your biggest!" Boone exclaimed. She made a face jokingly.

"You know what…" she said warningly, pretending to slap him. He laughed and moved out of the way, pushing her playfully.

"Come on," he said, still smiling. He was just glad that he had managed, at least for a moment, to distract her from Claire. He had noticed that she was shaking slightly. Back when they were digging Jack out of the caves, he had been really worried about her, because she was shaking like a leaf. This time, it was far less noticeable, but it was definitely there. He didn't want it to get worse.

She didn't notice that he was just trying to distract her, and they started walking with a companionable closeness. Her shoulder hit his when she walked, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

"I'm really glad you're moving to the caves," she said after a long pause.

"Yeah, me too," Boone replied with a smile for her. "I love the beach…but it was just too…I don't know. Temporary, I guess." He lowered his head closer to Scarlett's, as if he were telling her a secret. "I really don't think anyone's coming. At least…not soon."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. "Same here."

"I hate to be so…you know, pessimistic, but I can't help it. It really feels like there's no one out there."

"I was talking to Jeff about it the other day," Scarlett agreed. "He said it feels like the opposite of being watched."

"Yeah," Boone said slowly, nodding. He hastened to comfort her, however. "But I'm sure it's just because we've been here so long. We'll get rescued."

"Everyone gets rescued eventually," Scarlett mused to herself. Boone nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "We're gonna be okay. And hey, look at it this way…if we weren't here this long, we would never have become such close friends."

He gave her a small, half-smirking smile, and she smiled as well, ducking her head and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," she said, sounding slightly forlorn. "We wouldn't have."

Boone immediately noticed that something was wrong, and he looked at her with concern, frowning.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's just…when we get rescued…we're all just going to drift apart. It's kind of sad, actually."

"Yeah," Boone said, looking slightly sad as he looked at Scarlett. "But we don't have to drift apart, you know. I live in LA, you live in LA…we could keep in touch."

Scarlett shrugged.

"Yeah, but how long would that last?" she asked. "And Claire…Claire lives in Australia! How are we going to manage that?"

"We'll find a way to make it work," Boone laughed. "Trust me."

Scarlett nodded and tried to smile, but it still looked sad.

"I hope," she said with a small grin. "That would be great."

"It will be," Boone said with a smile, and Scarlett grinned as well.

* * *

When Scarlett and Boone reached the caves, Scarlett was shaking again. She was trying to pass it off as the heat, but Boone knew otherwise. She was worried about Claire.

"Here, let's get you some water…" he said casually. "It's really hot out. Where's your stuff?"

"Right there," Scarlett said, looking around for Claire. "Where's Claire?"

Boone put his bag down next to Scarlett's things and took her arm, sitting her down gently and with just the right amount of force. She pouted angrily.

"I'll find her," he said comfortingly. "Just stay there for a while, okay? It's hot."

"You…" she started, but he just looked at her pointedly, and she shut up. Boone walked over to where Kate was standing, talking to Jack.

"Hey," he said, ignoring the laugh that Kate was trying to hide. He wondered why that was. "Have you seen Claire?"

Jack looked upset.

"She was on her way to the beach. She left in a huff, all angry."

"Why?" Boone asked, making a face and looking back to Scarlett worriedly.

"I tried to give her a sedative for the dreams," Jack sighed. "We're not sure if she was really attacked or not, or if it was just another nightmare like the one she had the night before. She insisted that it was real, though, and just took off."

Boone looked back at Scarlett again, and this time Jack followed his gaze.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing that Boone looked nervous.

"I don't know, man," Boone replied, turning and looking at Jack, making a face. "Whenever she gets stressed out, she starts shaking."

"Shaking?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Boone replied. "When you were trapped in the cave and we were trying to dig you out…man, I thought she was going to pass out. She's really worried about Claire. I don't know…" he shook his head. "I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Is it because of those dreams?" Jack asked.

"What dreams? Kate asked, looking confused.

"Scarlett's been having weird dreams," Jack answered. "Do you think she's been feeling more stressed out because of them?"

"I don't know," Boone replied, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. "There was one time…she was really upset about a dream that she had. Usually she just shrugs it off. I mean…I have weird dreams too sometimes, especially after crashing on the island, but none that upset me so bad…"

He trailed off and shook his head, obviously not knowing what to think.

"Do you think she would object to a mild sedative?" Jack asked. "Just a small one. Enough so that the dreams would go away."

"I don't know," Boone replied, shrugging. "She might…but then again…she might not. I've known her for as long as you have, Jack."

"Yeah, but you're her friend. I'm just her doctor," Jack replied with a humorless smile. He started to say something when suddenly Sayid stumbled right past Scarlett and Locke, who was doing something on the other side of the cave, and fell at Jack's feet.

"Sayid?" Jack said, looking slightly scared.

"Listen to me," Sayid said haltingly. "I found her. The French woman.

Jack turned to Kate.

"I need some water," he said. Then he looked back to Sayid. "What happened?"

"The woman, on the island," Sayid gasped as Jack took a look at his leg, which was bleeding heavily. Scarlett made her way over to the four of them, eyes wide at the sight. "I had to come back." Sayid took a pause and then sat up, looking Jack straight in the eyes. "We're not alone."

Jack hardly listened. Perhaps he just didn't want to hear what he was hearing. In any case, he just hurried up and started tending to Sayid's wound. As if things couldn't get any weirder, Hurley burst out of the trees at a breakneck pace, holding something in his hand. Boone had to pull Scarlett out of the way of being trampled. Hurley wasn't exactly looking where he was going. He didn't even notice Sayid.

"We've got a problem," he said. Scarlett began to shake. Boone took her arm worriedly. "The manifest, Jack. The census." Jack wasn't paying attention. Hurley continued anyway. "The names of everyone who survived, all forty-fix of us. I interviewed everyone. Here, at the beach…got their names. One of them…one of them isn't…Jack!" Jack finally looked at him, and Hurley continued at a much slower pace. "One of them isn't in the manifest. He wasn't on the plane." Jack looked at him confused, then he looked around.

"Where's Charlie?" he asked. Scarlett shook harder.

"He went after Claire," Locke said. Scarlett looked like she was going to faint. Boone grabbed her around the shoulders and led her back over to her things, sitting her down gently. Jack jumped up and, followed by Locke, took off into the trees.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

_(Kate stands in front of Hurley as Scarlett and Boone watch on.)_

**Kate: **Who? Who wasn't on the plane?

**Hurley: **_(Gasping for breath) _That guy…the Canadian one. Ethan Rom.

_(Cut to Locke bursting from the trees. Scarlett, Boone, and Kate are sitting side-by-side, and they all look up fearfully.)_

**Kate: **What happened?

**Locke: **They've been taken.

_(Cut to Locke strapping a knife around his middle. Kate and Scarlett stand in front of him.)_

**Kate: **I'm coming with you.

**Locke: **I figured you might. _(He turns to Scarlett) _You too?

_(Scarlett pauses.She nods. Locke hands her a knife.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	33. All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues 1

Wellll here it is! Update time!

Sorry about the delay. I've had Driver's ed the past two days, and I have it again in like…an hour and then tomorrow and the day after that from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. SO BORING!. UGH! Besides that, there's been drama, and lots of it! Stupid cheating girlfriends of my best friends who are depressed all the time…I don't like it!

Anyway….Thanks for reviewing! Hahaha! Plleaaseeeee review again, and hey, if you haven't reviewed yet, now's the time to start!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Hahaha, yes, their shoulders touched. And yeah….Ethan makes me mad! Charlie and Claire had this whole cute thing going on…and then this! What's that all about? Ahhh! It's so frustrating! Haha, thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Ewwww, headaches! I would say 'feel better' but I have a feeling that it doesn't still hurt after like…five days, hahaha. Yeah, Boone's moving to the caves…but now Claire's not there anymore! Eek! No fair! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing

**Izzy: **Hahaha, omg, I LOVE Deep Blue Sea, but that so definitely adds to my fear. Deep Blue Sea is the only movie where my favorite character lived. I liked Preach! Hahaha. But yeah…I HATE sharks. I get so scared in the ocean, because you never know if its right under you until it gets you! I'm even afraid of them in really deep lakes, which is extremely stupid and childish because they're NOT THERE, I know, but I'm afraid nonetheless! Hahaha!  
I looove scary movies too. The thing is…I don't get scared until I go to bed, and it's dark, and then I'm like 'oh shit, what if something comes to get me'…which is really weird, but I'm afraid of a lot of things, hahaha.  
YAY! Running! I love running! Though after long distances it gets to me, and I get really winded, short distances is very good! The only way I can run long distances is if something's chasing me, or if I'm chasing something, hahaha. And…no, I've never been to Egypt, though we almost went one summer, before my youngest brother was born, but then something happened and we couldn't go. I was very sad, lol. I think Egypt would be an awesome place to visit.  
Hahaha I love long reviews, and I babble too, so it's not like I can tell you to stop! Look at me! There's like…thirty thousand years of me responding to reviews before the actual story starts! Hahahahaha.  
I do write A LOT. I can't even read because every time I open a book, I'm like 'nah, I wanna write instead!' It's like…after a busy day, all I want to DO is write! Hahaha, it makes me veryyyy happy, especially when awesome people like you review! Cus then it's even better!  
Hahahahha, you and your laughing all day thing sounds a lot like me. I'm known around my friends for being the happy one! Which is really a good thing, I guess…but I'm constantly happy. People know that when I get mad….it's really bad, because they did something REALLY wrong. Hahahaha, it makes me feel very powerful!  
Season two hasn't started here yet either. It makes me sad! Hahaha! I don't even know when it's starting again….I should probably find out though! And yeah, most definitely, I hope to continue through season three of Lost too!  
Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **I don't like this part either! I was working on a science project at the time, making a model of an animal cell (its weird, the things I remember, hahaha) and I kept walking down the stairs to finish it, bawling my eyes out cus Charlie was hung, and it was a commercial break. It was really bad! Hahaha!  
Ooooo, quick funny story! When Boone died, me and my sister Kelley and our friend Steph were all watching it together, because we said that we needed to be 'moral support', hahaha. So my parents were downstairs, and they had started it later than we did, because they had been doing something else, and they had TiVoed it. So when we were finished with the episode, with me and Steph completely bawling our eyes out, we went downstairs, and my parents were like…in the middle of the episode. So my dad turns around as we were going into the front hall to wait for Steph's parents, and he saw us crying, and he was like "Well….you just ruined it!" hahahaha, it was soooo funny!  
Anyway….yeah, Scarlett really does have a reason to be worried! And she definitely is!  
Hahahahaha, omg, that story about the man with one arm is wicked funny! That's like one of those really awkward funny moments in movies! Hahahahaha!  
Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **Carrie is very cool! She'll be back later on in the story.  
Hehe, when I was over my friend's house, another friend (You know…HOT! Hahaha) who I kind of have a massive crush on was there too, and he came over and sat on my lap (We're touchy feely people, haha) And even though he does that to everyone, I was veryyyy happy. So I completely understand the whole shoulder touching thing meaning a lot, haha.  
Scarlett's going to get _very _involved, hahaha. Especially coming up, with Claire's abduction and everything. Thanks for reviewing!

**LeoChris: **Hahaha, I think to myself "Where's Scarlett?" sometimes. When I was writing my King Arthur story, I got all confused because my character wasn't there, and I kept looking for her. Awwww! Thanks for the kind words! They make me feel happy!  
Yeah, having Boone in season 2 WOULD be cool. And yeah….Locke needs to go away forever! Hahaha! Thanks for the review and the niceness! It meant a lot!

**Piper: **Yay! A new reviewer! That makes me so happy! Thanks so much for the praise! It gives me such a boost, you don't even know! Hahaha! I'm so glad you like the story! Thanks sooo much for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Scarlett's gonna go on the search indeed! Hahahaa! Though who knows who she'll go with once they split up. Kate…or Boone? Who knows? I do! Hahahaa! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dark Syrinx: **Hey, who knows what I'm gonna do, hahaha! Even I don't know! That might be good to figure out one of these days…  
Jack and Locke should have fallen off that cliff in White Rabbit when they were falling off it! That would have been very good! But NO, they have to stick around for another twenty episodes, making everyone miserable! Jack is sooo annoying. He needs to stop being a whiner about _everything_. Not everything has to do with him!  
Hahaha, anywayyy….I love Hurley too! Though he's not my total favorite not based on hotness, he's definitely one of them! Oh yeah, we all definitely have our shallow moments. I have a lot! Hahaha!  
Thanks for the review!

* * *

**All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (1): **Taken

"Who?" Kate asked Hurley, sounding frantic. "Who wasn't on the plane?"

"That guy," Hurley panted, still out of breath. "The Canadian one. Ethan Rom."

Scarlett's eyes widened.

"_Ethan_?" she asked incredulously. She jumped up, though Boone tried to stop her. "Ethan? Oh my God…do they think he's hurt Charlie? Or Claire?"

"Scarlett, sit down," Boone said gently, trying to take her arm. Scarlett just shook him off.

"No," she said. "No, I can't. I have to follow them…"

She looked towards the trees, but suddenly felt very dizzy. Boone grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Hey," he said, his face showing his concern. "Scarlett, look at me, okay? It's going to be all right."

Scarlett's eyes slowly focused, and she nodded slowly. Kate appeared next to her and gently brushed the wayward hair out of her face.

"Just sit down, okay?" she said, sounding genuinely worried.

"You guys, I'm okay," Scarlett protested weakly, though she sounded far from it. Kate and Boone just sat her down, then sat next to her, while Sayid looked on. Hurley just paced nervously.

"Get her some water," Sayid said. "Quick."

"I'm okay…" Scarlett said, but Boone handed her a bottle of water, his eyes telling her that if she didn't drink it, then he was going to force her to. She wanted to smile, but couldn't, and she just took a sip. Then a gulp.

"You just need to relax," Kate said soothingly. She looked at Sayid. "Hurley? Get someone to help you move Sayid into one of the caves. He needs to rest."

Hurley nodded and called Steve over. Kate turned back to Scarlett.

She was really pale and looked terrified. Kate clasped one of her hands, and was almost frightened at the shaking that it was doing. Boone clasped Scarlett's other hand.

"It's okay," Kate said. "It doesn't mean anything. Ethan was just out getting firewood, that's all. There's nothing. He's a nice guy. Maybe he was just lost here, and…it doesn't mean that Charlie and Claire are in any danger…"

She trailed off, seeing that Scarlett only looked more scared. She wrapped her arm around Scarlett's shoulders.

"I'm just worried," Scarlett said, attempting a smile. "That's all. I'm okay. You guys are making a big deal out of nothing."

"So are you," Boone pointed out. "Claire and Charlie are going to be fine. It's all right."

"Don't worry," Kate said, giving Scarlett a small smile. "At least this time you don't have to clean up anyone's vomit."

At that, Scarlett laughed at last, looking at Boone with a mirthful smile. He made a face.

"I'm never drinking with Sawyer again," he said, shaking his head. Scarlett laughed and brushed some more hair out of her face. "I actually don't remember much. But I do remember throwing up in the bushes."

"Yeah. I remember that part all too well," Scarlett joked, though she hadn't and still didn't really mind the whole incident.

"Sorry about that," Boone said abashedly. Scarlett just smiled at him.

"It's okay," she said. "It's not like that's the first time I've ever dealt with a drunk with an upset stomach."

She grinned at him and he grinned back.

"Here, drink some more water," Kate said. Scarlett, giving up her resistance, took the bottle and took a sip. "More," Kate demanded. Scarlett laughed and gulped some down.

"Better?" she asked sarcastically.

"Much," Kate replied in the same tone. Scarlett laughed. Hurley and Steve started to help Sayid limp away. Scarlett tried not to think about what Locke and Jack might be finding in the forest, but the thoughts crept back anyway. She tried to ignore the worries. Boone and Kate were right. She couldn't keep getting stressed out. Bad stuff could happen.

* * *

_"Scarlett?"_

_"What?" Scarlett asked, slightly annoyed. _

_"Are you okay?"_

"No, I'm not okay!" Scarlett sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "Mom…Mark scares me."

_"I know he has a bad temper, sweetie, but he's a good guy."_

_"He's a good guy?" Scarlett asked, holding up her arm, which was completely covered in bruises. "Yeah, right!"_

_Scarlett was thirteen. Her mother noticed that she was starting to shake. _

_"Honey, calm down," she said. Suddenly, outside, a car door slammed. Scarlett jumped up from her chair, her entire body quivering nervously. Lucy grabbed her arms and looked her in the eye, trying to sound calm. "Honey, go to your room."_

_Scarlett's eyes were wide and frightened, and she nodded slowly. _

_"Yeah," she said meekly. The heavy, pounding footsteps plodded up the driveway. She turned and started to walk towards her room, but suddenly her vision swam with dizziness, and then everything went black as she crashed to the floor.

* * *

_

After a while, Scarlett was completely done being nervous. Kate's continuous assurances that everything was going to be all right, and Boone's comforting presence made her feel light and happy.

_They were just moving to the beach_, she thought calmly. _That's all. Claire was just overreacting. I can't blame her. Jack should have been more subtle. They'll be at the beach. They'll be okay. _

"Do you want some more water?" Boone asked, putting his hand on her back gently. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"Sure," she said. He handed her a bottle and smiled. She took a sip and handed it back. "Thanks, you guys. Thanks for being here. I know I worry too much…"

"It's not your fault," Kate said quickly.

"Yeah," Boone added. It's not. It's okay."

"Thanks," Scarlett said again. She sighed and shook her head. "I've just been really high-strung lately, what with all these weird dreams and now Claire's attack…I really just don't know what to do lately."

Boone nodded and Kate took Scarlett's hand again.

"I know the feeling," she said with a small smile. "All of this has been really stressful. The plane crash, the stuff going on in the woods…it's all been getting to everyone. You're not the only one."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a smile. "I'm so lucky to have such great friends."

Kate and Boone both smiled at that. Suddenly, Shannon approached them.

"Boone!" she snapped. "What the Hell? Why didn't you wait for me?"

Boone started to stand up, but then he stopped and sat back down.

"I was busy," he said sharply. Shannon glared at him.

"It's your fault that I'm moving up here in the first place. The least you could do was help me move my luggage."

Boone rolled his eyes.

"Shan, it's not my fault you brought so much stuff. Look, just leave us alone, okay? Go…I don't know, do your nails or something."

Shannon glared at Boone, and then looked at Scarlett. At once, her face seemed to soften, and her expression went from angry to worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked with surprising gentleness.

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small smile. "Thanks, though."

"You look pale," Shannon remarked. "Are you sure? You need me to get you some, like…food or something?"

"No, I'm okay," Scarlett said, her smile growing wider. "Thanks a lot though."

"Okay, no problem," Shannon said. She glared at Boone again, and then turned back to Scarlett, her facial expression changing so fast it was eerie. "I hope you feel better."

She walked off, and Scarlett smiled again.

"Wow," Boone said, shaking his head. "I can't believe that that just happened. Did you _hear _her? She was…worried. And it had nothing to do with herself."

"Yeah. She's not that bad!" Scarlett laughed. "Maybe she's making an effort to change."

"Maybe," Boone said, but it was clear from his tone of voice that he wasn't too sure.

Before Scarlett had a chance to say anything, Locke walked out of the woods, looking out of breath. Scarlett, Kate, and Boone all jumped up.

"What happened?" Kate asked, clutching Scarlett's hand tightly.

"They've been taken," Locke said. Scarlett's eyes opened wide, and she suppressed a sob. Boone quickly engulfed her in a hug. She just drew in another shuddering breath and indicated that she was okay. Boone didn't stop hugging her.

"Where's Jack?" he asked.

"He went out looking for them," Locke said. "I decided I would come back here; get some supplies and help."

"Boone!"

Shannon gestured to him from over by the waterfall. Boone sighed.

"I'll be right back," he murmured to Scarlett, and then he took off. Locke pulled his case off a shelf and grabbed a few knives.

"You let him go alone?" Kate asked, and Locke put the case back up.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll catch up. What's the word from the beach?"

"Nothing," Kate said, though Scarlett wondered how she got _that _information. "Nobody has seen him." There was a pause. "I'm coming with you."

"I figured you might," Locke said, handing Kate a knife. He looked at Scarlett. "You too?"

Scarlett nodded with determination. The worry was fading, replaced with a burning anger. Locke handed her a knife as well, nodding at her.

"Are you sure that's the best idea?" Kate asked, as Locke went off to get some water. "I mean…we don't want you passing out in the middle of the woods."

"Not going to happen," Scarlett proclaimed viciously, following after Locke. Kate had to admit that she didn't doubt her at all.

* * *

Boone walked up to Locke, Kate, and Scarlett, with Shannon following him angrily.

"I heard you're forming a search party," he said casually. "Can I help?"

Shannon stared at him, aghast and angry.

"This is a deserted island," she said laughingly. "There's no choppers, no Amber alerts…how exactly are you gonna find them?"

"By following Ethan's trail," Locke replied casually. "No one can walk through the wilderness without leaving signs; bending blades of grass, breaking twigs…especially with captives in tow." He shrugged and turned to Boone. "And yes, I could use another hand if you're up for it."

"I'm up for it," Boone said. Shannon stared at him incredulously.

"Then let's get moving," Locke said, shrugging. He started walking with Kate and Scarlett behind him. Boone gave Shannon one last glance before walking after them.

* * *

They entered the trees a little while later with Locke and Kate walking ahead, and Boone and Scarlett behind. Boone looked at Scarlett and smiled reassuringly. She tried to smile back, but it was more of a half-smirk than an actual smile.

"Are you sure you want to come?" Boone asked. "Maybe it would be better if you…"

He trailed off as she shook her head violently.

"No," she said. "I'm not just gonna stay here while you guys go out looking. I'm going."

"Okay," Boone said after a long pause. "Just…try not to worry."

"Boone, it's impossible not to worry," Scarlett said, managing to not sound _too_ frustrated. "Two of my best friends are out there, missing. Of course I'm going to be at least a _little_ worried."

"But it's not 'a little worried' that I'm scared for," Boone replied. "It's the really worried, and the shaking that I don't want to happen."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. "I'm not going to let that happen."

Boone nodded slightly and handed her a water bottle. She gave him a look.

"Just in case!" he exclaimed. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

He looked at her with a small smile, and she couldn't help but smile back, despite the gnawing fear that was growing in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but think of that dream when Charlie and Claire had been standing side-by-side, screaming for help while their faces were completely calm. What if that had been a sign of what was going to happen? What if they were in trouble? What if they…died?

The thought of it was just too horrible to comprehend, and she knew that if she let it get to her, then she would start to shake. She knew that what followed the shaking wasn't necessarily life threatening, but she certainly didn't want it to happen. She had to stay focused.

For the third time in her life, she just let her anger in, and she just focused on completing the task ahead of her. She was going to find Claire and Charlie and she was going to hurt the man who took them, even if it was Ethan, who she had thought was a pretty nice guy. It didn't matter. She was going to hurt him. And if he hurt them…then he would regret it for the rest of his life.

* * *

They caught up to Jack a little way into the woods. He was spinning around in circles, looking lost and very confused.

"Jack!" Locke yelled. Jack whirled around and looked at Locke, breathing heavily. "It's a good thing you were going in a circle," Locke remarked as the three of them walked up to Jack. Scarlett saw Jack's eyes flicker over to hers briefly, and she tried hard not to scowl. She wasn't a freaking invalid. She wished everyone would stop treating her like one. "Not much of a search grid, but we never would have found you otherwise."

Kate walked up to Jack, looking worried.

"Did you find anything?" she asked quietly. Before Scarlett could even get her hopes up, Jack shook his head.

"No," he said. There was a short pause.

"You should go back to the caves," Locke said to break it. "Sayid's leg…"

"I dressed Sayid's leg," Jack snapped. "You found me. We can find Charlie and Claire. Now, do we have a trail to follow or not?"

Scarlett wanted to just scream at Jack to shut up and go back to the caves. _This isn't about you and what you did! _She felt like yelling. _This is about Charlie and Claire! Why the hell can't anything ever be about anyone else?_

"Jack…" Locke said suddenly. "This was my fault."

"What?" Jack asked, looking surprised.

"I hunted with Ethan," Locke replied. "I spent time with him. I never sensed anything…off. Bur for everything that I know about hunting and tracking, whoever he is, he knows more." Here, he paused, and Scarlett felt her respect and admiration for Locke growing. "If we catch up with him, I don't want anything to happen to the only trained physician on the island. So go back, be the doctor. Let me be the hunter."

Scarlett nodded. Locke made a lot of sense. She saw Boone and Kate nodding as well. All of them saw that what Locke was saying was very reasonable. Jack nodded and looked around at everyone, but then looked at Locke, steely determination in his gaze.

"Can we go now?" he asked. Scarlett felt the anger nearly consuming her, and her hands clenched into fists. Locke just stared at Jack for a moment, looking extremely disappointed and decidedly displeased.

"Follow me," he said, and then turned and walked away. Jack gave them all a semi-smug look, like he had won some sort of battle, and then he walked off after Locke.

* * *

They walked on for a while, and Locke started ripping off parts of a red shirt to tie them to the trees and mark their progress. Kate and Jack fell behind, and Locke, Scarlett, and Boone walked ahead. Scarlett had long since taken off her t-shirt and just wore her dark red tank top that was beneath it. The heat was getting to everyone, including Locke, who was panting and looking like he was about to pass out.

"We mark our progress by line of sight," he said, breathing heavily as he ripped off another strip. "Tie these off so we don't get lost."

"Good idea," Scarlett said with a grin, as Locke started to tie the strip to the tree. There was a pause.

"You can lead us back to camp, right?" Boone asked Locke uncertainly. Locke smiled at him kindly.

"If nothing happens to me," he replied. There was another long pause, and Locke secured the strip.

"Maybe I'd better take marker detail," Boone said after a while. Locke smiled at him again and gave a breathless little chuckle, tossing the shirt to Boone. Finally, Kate and Jack caught up.

"Anything?" Jack asked. Scarlett glanced at Boone and saw him biting his lower lip in annoyance. She couldn't say that she blamed him.

"Not yet," Locke replied, sounding surprisingly content.

"If you can't find the trail…" Jack began, but Locke cut him off.

"I'll pick it up. We need to rest for a minute, to get our clarity back.

"You're gonna take a break?" Jack asked incredulously. "It's gotta be almost four o'clock. When the sun sets, there's no way…"

Locke just calmly interrupted him once again.

"It's four twenty-five," he said. "And yes, I'm taking a break."

He sat down with his water. Jack just glared at him.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Kate asked Jack. He nodded and the two of them walked off. After a pause, Scarlett walked after them.

"Where are you going?" Boone asked, grabbing her arm gently.

"I'm getting really pissed off with him," Scarlett growled. "And I'm going to tell him so."

Boone looked back at Locke, but Locke just waved her on.

"Go ahead," he said. "If it'll make you feel better. Go ahead."

Scarlett had a feeling that that was his was of saying 'he's pissing me off too. Go for it.'

* * *

Scarlett saw Jack and Kate up ahead, talking. Kate was looking distressed, and Jack was looking depressed.

"She told me someone was after her, that she was being attacked, and I…she just seemed so out of it," Jack was saying. "I thought that her pregnancy was amping up her stress and I…" Here, he gave a huge sigh. "I didn't believe her."

Scarlett walked out of the trees. Kate saw her. Jack was too busy looking at the ground mournfully to notice.

"You know," she said, causing Jack's head to snap up with surprise. "You don't have to go on a guilt trip, Jack. We understand that you didn't believe Claire, but if you think that you have to do this to make things right…then you're completely wrong. We're out here searching because we _want_ to find Claire and Charlie; because we _want _them to be safe and because they're our _friends_. You're out here because you feel like it was your fault. You're acting like this is some big cross that you have to bear, and it's really starting to piss me off." Jack was looking at her, speechless. "Locke knows what he's doing. He was right about having you go back because you're the only doctor out here, and if anything happens to you…we're all screwed. But you just wouldn't go back, because you want to be the one to find Charlie and Claire. You want to be the one to save the day again, Jack. Not because you want to help Charlie and Claire, necessarily, but because you think that you have to. You're the martyr, and you've screwed up, so now you have to make it right." She paused and shook her head. "Stop acting like it's your fault, Jack. It's not."

She turned and walked back into the trees, feeling a lot better than she had in a while.

* * *

Kate and Jack stood in the clearing, staring after Scarlett.

"She thinks I don't care about Charlie and Claire?" Jack asked, looking angry. He bobbed his head a few times and made a face. "What?"

"I don't think that's what she was saying, Jack," Kate said slowly. "I think she was saying that the main reason you're out here, and the reason that you didn't go back when Locke suggested, is because you feel like it's your fault, not because you care."

Jack just shook his head and started to say something, but Kate had heard enough. She turned and walked into the trees after Scarlett, leaving Jack standing out in the clearing alone.

* * *

When Scarlett reached Boone and Locke, Boone looked relieved. Locke was looking at something in his hand. Suddenly, he yelled Jack's name. Kate appeared first. Then, a few moments later, Jack showed up, running and looking frantic. He almost ran into Scarlett. She just moved closer to Boone and glared at Jack.

Locke was holding a piece of tape in his hands. It was one of the letters that Charlie had on his fingers. Locke was holding the 'L' that began 'late'. Boone leaned over to get a good look. Kate bent down as well.

"What is it?" she asked. Jack took the tape from Locke.

"Look familiar?" Locke asked. Jack nodded.

"It's Charlie's," he said.

"You think it just came off?" Boone asked.

"No," Jack replied, shooting a fairly annoyed glance in Boone's direction. Scarlett glared at Jack. If he said one wrong word to Boone…but he didn't. Scarlett's protective instincts died down as Jack continued his sentence. "He's leaving us a trail."

Jack and Locke looked at each other, and then Locke nodded, giving Jack a smile that clearly said 'yeah, I thought of that about ten minutes ago. What took you so long?'

Scarlett smiled as well, and they all stood up, feeling far more hopeful than before.

* * *

Scarlett and Boone walked side-by-side as the other three members of the search party walked ahead; keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of tape letters or of Claire and Charlie themselves.

"How are you holding up?" Boone asked Scarlett casually, though she could see that he was worried. She grinned at him.

"Good," she replied. "How about you?"

Boone seemed surprised at the question.

"Fine," he said casually. "Water?"

"Yeah, thanks," Scarlett said, and then she took a sip and handed it back to Boone. He took a sip as well.

"Um…" he began, apparently trying to think of the right words to say. Scarlett just waited, knowing that he would. And he did. "Look," he said slowly. "I've been thinking about those dreams we've both been having. Remember how we both said that we got them, and so did Claire?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. She had a feeling that she knew where he was going. She had been thinking the same thing.

"The night she got attacked…last night, I guess it was…I had a dream that…I don't know, could have been saying that this was going to happen."

He looked nervous. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she said. "So did I. At least…I think."

"What was yours?" Boone asked.

"Charlie and Claire were both standing by a tree yelling for help," Scarlett replied. "But they didn't look scared at all. They were completely emotionless."

"What happened after that?" Boone asked.

"Well, They just kind of stood there screaming, but I wasn't really paying attention to them, because this is the same dream where Locke killed you."

Boone looked ahead to Locke and shuddered.

"Yeah," he said. "Mine was close to the same. They looked scared in mine though, but they weren't moving. They were just standing there screaming, and I ran up to them to help them, but then Sawyer shot me…and you were there."

He was too embarrassed to continue with the rest, but Scarlett had a feeling that she knew what went on. She had probably kissed his hair and held him as he was dying.

"I don't like this," Scarlett groaned. "Not at all. It's beginning to really get to me."

"Yeah," Boone said. "I haven't been sleeping very much."

He certainly looked like he was tired. He almost seemed to be drooping. Scarlett grinned at him sadly.

"At least now you're at the caves," she said with a small smile.

"Yeah," Boone replied, grinning. "Though Shannon already wants to move back to the beach."

It felt good to talk about the future. Scarlett imagined she and Claire sitting by the caves and talking while Boone walked up, looking happy. Their sleeping things would all be right next to each other, and while she slept, maybe she would even had pleasant dreams, now that Claire's abduction was almost over.

Because it _was _almost over. She wouldn't let herself think otherwise. It was almost over and it was almost done. They had found the tape-letter, and soon Ethan's little hideout would be discovered, and there would be a grand struggle, but they would win and…

A struggle? Scarlett visibly paled two or three shades, and she looked at Boone with some panic. She tried to keep the shaking under control, but she was shaking a tiny bit. It wouldn't have been noticeable otherwise, but she and Boone were walking very close, and his shoulder kept brushing hers. He felt the tremors, and looked at her with fear.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding worried. He glanced ahead to Locke, Jack, and Kate. They had stopped and were talking amongst themselves. Boone took Scarlett by the arms and sat her down. "Here, have some water. What is it?"

"Boone, if we get to Ethan's hideout, there's gonna be a fight, most likely. You _can't _fight, okay?"

"What?" Boone asked, making the Wiggly Eyebrow Face. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want you to get hurt," Scarlett said sadly. "I was just thinking that, you know, everything was almost done, and that we'd find Ethan's hideout, and then we'd fight for a bit, but we'd win, and then we'd take Charlie and Claire and get out of there. But then I was thinking about the dreams and how maybe Ethan would manage to take one of us out." The image suddenly entered her head of Boone lying on the ground as the rain poured down, bleeding into the mud as Ethan stood over him with a gun, smiling. "And with the dreams…I just really don't want you to get hurt."

She looked at him mournfully, and he couldn't help the small smile that crept to his features. He moved to sit beside her on the rock that she was on, and he engulfed her in a hug.

"This _is _almost over," he said to her gently. "And we'll be home soon. _All_ of us. Don't worry, Scarlett. I'll be careful."

Scarlett nodded and smiled at him, brushing the tears out of her eyes that threatened to spill over. She noticed that he said 'home'. She smiled wider.

"Okay," she said. "Okay."

Boone smiled and hugged her again, standing up slowly and pulling her after him. He looked sad for a moment.

"You know," he said slowly. "Thanks for caring. Sometimes I really think you're the only person I've ever met who really, truly cares."

"I'm sure that's not true," Scarlett protested, but Boone shook his head.

"I'm just Sabrina Carlyle's son to most people," he said, shrugging. "The stuck-up, rich, wedding store manager." He smirked and shook his head.

"You? Stuck-up?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "Yeah _right_!"

Up ahead, Locke called for Boone and Scarlett to keep walking, so they did.

"Hey, that's what other people think," Boone said with a laugh. "Because I'm kinda quiet, they automatically assume I'm a total jerk."

"I know _that _feeling," Scarlett laughed. "I was never really a huge talker in school, and people _hated _me for it."

Boone smiled slightly to himself as they continued talking. He was getting pretty good at getting Scarlett's mind off of things. He didn't want her to be worried. He knew that she was worried enough about Charlie and Claire, without worrying about _him _too. Though he couldn't help but wonder exactly _why _she was worried.

* * *

Eeeeeek, no time for next chapter! You all know whats next anyway! 


	34. All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues 2

Wa-hoooo! Heeerree's the update!

As of now there are like…eight men downstairs in my kitchen tearing up the floor. I'm absolutely starving, but I'm not allowed to go down there and eat! What the hell is this! Ahhh!

Butttt! I went to the Backstreet Boys concert yesterday at the Tweeter Center. Holy shit that was AWESOME. I seriously never screamed so loud in my life! Hahaha! Me and my friend called up Hot during one of the songs, cus he hates the Backstreet Boys, hahahha.

Ahhhh, that was a fun night. I spent most of it looking at my friend's phone, cus she set her background as an extremely hot picture of Hot. I had a lot of fun with that one! Hahaha!

But here we go! Reviews were awesome and so very much appreciated last time! Please review again! It means a looot to me!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Yeauh! Ethan's gonna get his ass whooped and then we don't see him til' Homecoming! Siiiick! Haha, I decided that Jack really needed to be verbally bitch slapped. When he refused to go back, even though it made so much sense for him to do so, it pissed me off sooo badly. And then he was talking to Kate and whining about how Claire told him, and he didn't believe her…I just could NOT let that man get away with it! So I just inserted Scarlett in there to flip out on Jack. It was a fun thing to write! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Yeah, I'm not driving yet, cus I have to take my road lessons…but 18! That's so gay. They're trying to make that the law here too, but that won't affect me, so I'm not to worried about it. My sister might have to deal with it though, hahaha.  
Headaches give me horrible moods! Hahaha! But the weird thing is, I still act normal, so it's hard to tell if I don't tell anyone, but my friends always seem to know when I have one. Maybe I'm not as perky as normal. Who knows! I'm glad yours is over though! And I'm glad my story makes you feel better!  
Hahaha, you cleaning your room sounds a lot like me! My room's always messy (Though not nearly as messy as my friend Sarah's! Shit, she's got noooo floor showing, and I'm not even exaggerating.) When I need to clean it, I just shove things where my mom won't see them! Oh yeah, I'm smooth! Hahaha.  
Yeah, Jack pisses me off with his whining a lot. I find myself wanting to slap him across the face whenever I watch the show. He seems nice enough, but I really don't know if I could put up with all that whining! And that, my friend, is why I am a Skater! Hahaha.  
Scarlett so should beat the shit out of Ethan. I'm sure she'd love to do that very much!  
Thanks for the review!

**Dark Syrinx: **Hahaha, I think we should go with Scarlett and the three of us could just beat the hell outta Jack. It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time!  
When they killed Boone off…I cried harder than anything I've ever cried for. I really did. It was soooo bad. I just couldn't stop sobbing, hahaha.  
When Charlie got hung that scared the shit outta me and my sister, hahaha. Her favorite was Charlie, so she was freaking out. Of course, nine episodes later, I lose my favorite! No fair!  
I really didn't mind Locke until he said "Boone was a sacrifice that the island demanded" in the finale. That pissed me off more than anything. Even more than _Jack_! Ah!  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **Yeah, it really is a tad bit weird how much we have in common, hahaha! Preach was AWESOME! I loved him sooo much! I was watching it with my friend Eileen, and I was like "Omg, Preach is gonna die. Omg…omg…" and then I was all happy at the end cus he didn't!  
Hot and I had a conversation about scary movies last night. We were planning on watching some over our friend's house, and he asked me if I minded if he clung to me during scary parts. Um…no. I don't mind at ALL, hahaha. I like ghosts too. I think if I ever met one, I'd freak out and run away though. Unless, of course, I had a hot guy with me. ;)  
I loooove chasing people. Cus people don't think I'm very fast because I walk slow and am very lazy, hahaha. I ran down a kid on a bike once cus he sprayed me with silly string. That was fun! I got to beat the hell outta him too, which was good. Teehee!  
Babble, babble, babble. I'm doing it right now! Hahaha!  
I don't know what I would do if I couldn't respond to peoples' reviews! Cus it's the only way I get to be in touch with my reviewers! Haha! I do love to write, but I love sharing my writing more, even though most often I'm less than proud of my work.  
I'm such a not-mad person. Everyone always goes to me to cheer them up. I cheer up even the most depressed people! Not permanently, unfortunately, but at least for a little while they'll be happy and they'll smile. I love making people smile!  
I definitely want to go to Egypt. It seems like so much fun there! Sharmel-Sheik sounds like my kind of place! Very relaxing and laid back with good food! Haha, yup, that's me!  
Here it starts September 21, I believe. I'm not completely positive, but I think, anyway, hahaha. It's a looooong wait, but I'm glad I don't have to miss any while I'm on vacation! That would drive me insane!  
Awwww, I'm glad you like it! Compliments like that make me really happy!  
My school starts on September 7th, which is my sister's birthday. The poor girl! Ewwww, yours starts so early! That's not cool at all! Good luck in school though. :-/ Ewwww!  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **I'm out of Driver's Ed! Whhhoooooo-hooooo! I'm so happy, hahaha. I HATED that class. I haven't signed up for road lessons yet, though I suppose that would be a good idea, huh?  
I really wish that they had killed him off too! That would have made things so much easier for all of us! And yeah, Sun could definitely take over and be way better!  
I hope it's Shannon too for the same reasons. And so she can't be with Sayid! I hate the two of them together! Haha!  
Thanks for the review!

**Winged Seraph: **I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! (Ahhh, loud man outside just yelled! Hahaha, random bit of info that scared me) Hehe, pinching Boone is my job ;) Haha, Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Holy CRAP! Ethan! Ahhh! That would have scared me sooooo bad! I would have screamed too! Ehhh!  
Hahaha, I make so many mistakes. It makes me laugh.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**LeoChris: **Yup, Whatever the Case May Be is when you figure out who 'He' is. Annddd, I just wrote the scene where Scarlett and someone kiss! I'm not telling you who it is, but I just wrote it! Hahaha!  
Thanks so much for the review!

**KnightoftheRoundTable: **Yay! I'm glad you're still reading!  
I still haven't decided what to do with Boone. There are very good plotlines I could keep going either way. (Hehe, I wrote a King Arthur story where Lancelot lived. That's the whole reason I wrote it, cus I didn't like the fact that he died. But then that turned into like…a three story frickin epic! I don't know how that came about! I just wanted a little story! Haha!) Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Yeah, I reallllly hated Driver's Ed. Six hours of learning about driving a day? No, not cool! Hahaha! And yeah, I really had to work at posting chapters. It took a lot out of my day! Oh yeah, permits make it all worth it! I looove driving! Hahaha! Thanks for the review!

**Miss Dior: **Poor Scarlett! She has to deal with evil dudes like Ethan stealing her best friends! Good thing they didn't take Boone or Sawyer! Where would she be without those two! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (2): **Rain

_Scarlett awoke in a hospital bed. Her first feeling was of absolute terror. What was she doing there? Did Mark hurt her while she was passed out? There had been many trips to the hospital before, when she had "fallen down the stairs", or "Fell off her bike", or (her favorite) "Slammed her hand in the front door." But this was different. She was actually in a hospital bed. She had never been in a hospital bed before. She had just been stitched up, was told by a jolly doctor to be more careful around those front doors, and then she was off, and the doctors were none the wiser. _

_"Hey, ScarScar."_

_Scarlett's head whirled to the left, and she smiled as she saw Anthony sitting in the chair by the bedside. _

_"Hey," she said. He held out his hand, and she took it willingly. He smiled at her. "What happened?"_

_"Mom says you just passed out," Anthony replied with a shrug. "She said you were panicking because Mark was home." Anthony's gaze suddenly turned loving and soft, and he leaned over the bed to hug his little sister. "You were afraid, she said," he murmured. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "I remember getting dizzy…"_

_"The doctors said that they couldn't find anything wrong with you," Anthony said. "It's probably just some subconscious reaction to fear or something. The body wants to shut down so you can get away from what you're afraid of."_

_That sounded like it made sense. Scarlett nodded. _

_"Yeah," she said. "So they say I'm okay, though?"_

_"Yeah," Anthony replied with a tired smile. "They put you through so many tests…it took all night."_

_"Were you here that whole time?" Scarlett asked incredulously, feeling a sudden wave of love washing over her._

_"Yeah," Anthony replied with a small half-smile in his barely-there southern drawl. "I didn't want you to wake up in a hospital with no one there to watch you." He looked angry for a moment. "Mom came for about an hour, but Mark made her leave. He tried to make me leave too, but I told him that if he made me leave you, I would castrate him and feed his balls to Mikey." Mikey was the dog. Scarlett grinned. _

_"Thanks, Anth'ny," she said softly. "I'm glad you're here, more than anyone else."_

_"Me too," Anthony replied, and the two of them just sat there, their hands clasped together, as the hours ticked away.

* * *

_

Jack bent down and picked something off a twig. It was the letter 'A'.

"They went this way," he said, pointing.

"I'm not so sure," Locke replied. He was standing further back, looking in a completely other direction than where Jack had been pointing. "There's another trail here."

"What do you mean, "another"?" Jack asked, wiping his forehead with his hand.

"It means there's another trail," Scarlett snapped. Jack looked at her with something that could have been anger at himself or her. She didn't really care. Locke smiled at her.

"There are footprints," he said. "People moved off this way."

"Charlie's leaving these for us to follow," Jack replied, bobbing his head from side to side.

"Unless Charlie isn't the one leaving them," Kate replied softly. Everyone looked at her. "If Ethan knows that we're behind him, he could be setting up a dummy trail. Take off in one direction, double back in his old footprints."

Everyone stared at Kate for a moment.

"Wait, now you're a tracker?" Boone asked.

"You're just full of surprises," Locke remarked.

"So we've got two trails," Jack said. "Let's split up." He pointed down the trail that he had been advertising before. "I'll take that one."

"No," Locke said swiftly. "We should stay together, Jack."

"Why?" Jack asked sourly. "We've got two trails and, apparently, two trackers."

Locke looked at Jack and Kate for a moment, since it was obvious Jack was going to want to go with her.

"Be careful," he said slowly. Kate turned to Scarlett.

"It's okay," she said with a hesitant smile. Scarlett nodded and hugged her fiercely.

"Yeah," she said. "Be safe."

"You too."

Then they parted. Jack and Kate followed Charlie's trail of finger tape, and Scarlett, Boone, and Locke walked off down the trail with the footprints.

* * *

They walked on for a while, with Boone stopping every once in a while to tie a red strip of shirt onto a tree. Scarlett started ripping the strips ahead of time, to save them some time. Once such instance, Boone felt the need to break the silence.

"Red shirt," he said. Locke and Scarlett both looked at him.

"Huh?" Locke asked, looking confused.

"Red shirt," Boone repeated. Locke just stared. "You ever watch Star Trek?"

"Oh," Locke said. "Not really."

They continued walking.

"The crew guys that would go down to the planet with the main guys," Boone continued. "The captain and the guy with the pointy ears…they always wore red shirts, and they always got killed."

"Yeah?" Locke asked.

"Yeah," Boone said.

"Sounds like a piss-poor captain," Locke remarked.

Boone laughed.

"What do you do in the real world, Mr. Locke?" he asked conversationally.

"It's John," Locke said kindly.

"John," Boone said thoughtfully, smiling. Scarlett noticed that Locke hadn't told Jack to call him John. She smiled.

"Why don't you guess?" Locke said in reply to Boone's question.

"Well, you're either a taxidermist or a hit man," Boone said jokingly. Locke laughed. Then, he stopped moving.

"I was a…Regional Collections Supervisor for a box company," he said. Scarlett smiled with incredulity.

"A box company?" Boone asked, grinning. Locke smiled back and nodded.

"They made boxes," he said simply. Scarlett laughed. Locke walked on. Boone smiled to himself, and then looked at Scarlett.

"Yeah, right," he said, and then the two of them followed after the older man.

After a few minutes of walking, Locke turned to face Scarlett and Boone.

"How are you two holding up?" he asked. "Do you want to take a break?"

Scarlett shook her head slowly.

"No," she said. Boone shrugged.

"Nah," he said. Locke smiled.

"All right," he said. "Water? Anything?"

"I'm good," both young people replied. Locke smiled, looking very pleased.

"Okay, then," he said. "Let's keep moving!"

Scarlett and Boone both turned and smiled at each other, and then kept walking.

* * *

It was an hour later, and Scarlett was starting to get worried. They hadn't seen a sign for a while, and she was starting to wonder if Jack and Kate had found anything. Boone was getting nervous too, she could tell, because he kept fidgeting and biting his lip. Finally, he spoke.

"It's been about fifteen minutes since we've seen any sign," he remarked. "What are we following?"

"My gut," Locke replied, grinning.

"Great," Boone said, unable to suppress a small smile. He and Scarlett finally caught up with Locke, and the three of them walked side-by-side.

"So, Boone, what do you do in the real world?" Lock asked conversationally.

"I run a business," Boone replied, looking slightly embarrassed.

"What kind of business?" Locke asked. Boone gave a bashful little half-smirk.

"It's a wedding thing," he said. Scarlett found herself smiling.

"Huh?" Locke asked, smiling as well. Boone looked really embarrassed now.

"My mother has this empire…the Martha Stewart of Matrimony. I run one of the subsidiaries."

"So who's running it now?" Locke asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Boone replied with an almost wistful sigh. Locke stopped moving and put a hand on Boone's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sure there are people who can handle it temporarily." He paused for barely a second. "It's gonna start raining in one minute."

"One minute?" Boone asked doubtfully.

"Give or take a few seconds," Locke replied. "You should turn around, Boone, and you too, Scarlett. Head back."

"What?" Boone asked incredulously.

"Trail's been cold for a quarter mile, dangerous terrain ahead. If you start now, you'll make it back to camp before dark."

The thought of being out in the woods at night was more than just slightly frightening, but Scarlett wasn't going to let that bother her. She didn't want to turn back.

"What about you?" Boone asked.

"I can take care of myself," Locke replied with a small smile. Boone thought for a moment.

"No," he said finally. "I'm not gonna head back."

Locke looked at Scarlett. She just shook her head mutely.

"I admire your courage," Locke said casually. "But you two should…"

"I'm not heading back," Boone said with slightly more force than he had used before. Locke smiled at the two of them, and Scarlett saw some respect in his eyes.

"All right," he said, looking up at the sky. As if on cue, it started to rain. Boone gazed around him, amazed, Locke spread open his arms, laughing joyously. Scarlett bit her lip and wondered again what Jack and Kate had found.

"They teach you how to predict the weather at a box company?" Boone asked loudly. Locke laughed. Scarlett smiled nervously.

* * *

They kept walking. Boone was like a little kid in the rain, or, more accurately, a puppy, humming to himself and occasionally looking up at the sky, opening his mouth and letting the rain fall on his tongue. He shook his hair out, drenching Scarlett even more, and she couldn't help but laugh. Boone smiled at her, feeling as if he had won some private victory in making her laugh, just as she had thought the same thing when he had almost drowned in his attempt to save Joanna. He felt a tinge of regret at that thought, and he quickly sobered up.

"What's wrong?" Scarlett asked. It amazed him that she had known him for less than a month, and yet she seemed to know him better than anyone ever had. She had a way with people; she was so perceptive and gentle that anyone who didn't like her would have to be completely deranged. Even _Sawyer _liked her.

"Nothing," he lied. "Just…thinking. Cold."

"Cold?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Boone said. "The rain. It's cold."

"Oh," Scarlett laughed. "But, Boone, being cold wouldn't make you go all…depressed."

Boone grinned at her.

"I don't like the cold," he remarked. She smiled and shook her head.

"All right," she laughed. Suddenly, just like that, it stopped raining. Scarlett and Boone stopped walking, absolutely shocked. Locke just kept walking like it was totally normal.

"That was weird," Boone remarked.

"As weird as Locke predicting the weather?" Scarlett asked with a grin. "But yeah…that _was_ weird."

Locke turned and grinned at them.

"We gonna keep moving?" he asked. "Rain's not gonna be gone for long." Boone and Scarlett grinned at each other and shrugged before they walked on.

* * *

_Scarlett rang the doorbell tremulously, wiping her sweating hands on her jeans. The door was opened by Becca Martin, her mother's friend. Scarlett smiled at her. _

_"Hi," she said quietly. "Is Stephen there?"_

_Becca nodded and smiled at Scarlett, though she looked slightly sad. _

_"Yeah," she said. "Honey, I just wanna tell you that I'm so sorry about what happened."_

_"Oh," Scarlett said, looking down at the ground. "Yeah. Thanks."_

_Becca smiled at her sadly and then continued inside. Scarlett waited for several minutes before Stephen showed up at the door, smiling at her with the question clearly in his eyes. _

_"What's up?" he asked. Scarlett knew there would be no sympathetic words regarding Mark's death from Stephen. He knew what Mark had done to her. He had seen it with his own eyes. _

_"I need to talk to someone," Scarlett said sadly. "And I thought you'd be the right person."_

_Stephen nodded and shut the door behind him. _

_"Let's go for a walk," he said. Scarlett nodded and he held out his hand. Scarlett smiled and took it gently. They started walking down the street, and Stephen put his arm around her shoulders. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked. _

_Scarlett felt safe and secure, and she didn't hesitate before she spilled out her story of how she had killed Mark, and how she had acted like it was just an accident. She was only fourteen. Stephen was eighteen. They shouldn't have been together, but their parents didn't care, and Stephen was sure that he loved her. Scarlett thought that she loved him._

_By the time Scarlett was done with her story, she was sobbing. Stephen wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. _

_"You did the right thing," he whispered. "Don't worry. You did the right thing. I would have killed the bastard myself if I had been there."_

_Scarlett smiled up at him. _

_"Thank you," she whispered, wiping her eyes. Stephen took over the job for her and cleaned away her tears. _

_"I love you," he said softly. _

_"And I love you," she replied. _

_Then, it began to rain.

* * *

_

It was starting to get dark, and it was raining again. Scarlett found herself walking closer and closer to Boone and Locke, glad that the company was there. There was still no sign of any form of a trail, but Locke just kept on walking, seemingly completely oblivious to that fact.

"We're going the right way," was all he would say when they asked. After a while, they just stopped asking.

"When is it going to stop raining?" Boone asked grumpily. "Can you tell that, too?"

Locke laughed.

"Not for a while," he said. Boone groaned.

"Great," he muttered. Locke turned to Scarlett.

"Everyone else has said what they do in the real world except for you, Scarlett. So tell us. What do you do?"

"Not much," Scarlett laughed. "I had a job at Bernie's, a diner in Australia, while I was there for a year, and I was planning on finding one in LA when I got back. I like writing, though, and was in the middle of writing a book."

"Really?" Locke asked, sounding interested.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "My boyfriend always used to tell me that it was a waste of time, but I kept with it."

Locke looked at her sadly.

"Doesn't sound like a very good boyfriend," he remarked lightly.

"No," Scarlett said with a small smile. "He wasn't sometimes. I still loved him though."

"Do you _still _love him?" Locke asked. Scarlett shook her head.

"No," she lied. "I don't think so."

"Remember that there are always bigger and better fish in the sea," Locke said, pausing for a moment before taking a slight turn and continuing. "What was his name?"

"Stephen," Scarlett said, wondering where this was going. "Stephen Martin."

"And how old was he?"

"Twenty-four," Scarlett responded.

"Did he ever, you know, hurt you?" Locke asked, stopping suddenly. The look on Scarlett's face answered the question long before she opened her mouth.

"Yeah," she whispered, barely audible over the noise of the rain.

"Then why do you love him?" Locke asked. Scarlett just stood there, staring at him with her eyes wide. There was a long, stunned silence in which Scarlett and Locke stared at each other, and Boone stood off to the side, looking sad.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied after that long, awkward moment. "He was nice before…"

"But not when you left him?"

"How did you know that I left him?" Scarlett asked defensively.

"You were in Australia for a year, you said," he replied with a small shrug. "I assumed that you ran away."

"I did," Scarlett said, looking at him with wonder. "I ran away. He found me and wanted me back."

"And you went with him?" Boone asked, eyes wide with anger and pain for her. She sniffled dejectedly.

"I had no choice," she said. Boone looked at her with his eyes even wider. Locke nodded sadly.

"And yet you still love him," he said with certainty, even though Scarlett had already replied 'no' to that answer earlier. She didn't know how to explain it, but he knew. Somehow, he knew.

"I don't know why," she said softly. Locke stopped walking as they entered the woods. It was much less wet in there, and Scarlett found herself shivering in the cold that she hadn't noticed before.

"Let me tell you something that I think to be true," Locke said, turning to her and putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I, personally, never married. I wasn't cut out for married life. But I do believe that there is a right person out there for everyone. There is a soul mate, a match made in Heaven, so to speak. And I believe that if you have to fight, really fight, for a relationship to stay alive, then you shouldn't be trying in the first place."

"But some relationships have their problems," Scarlett protested. "A lot do. But if you fight for it, then there's a hope of keeping the love alive."

"When I say fight, I mean when your man hurts you, really hurts you…and I'm talking physical, mental, emotional. All kinds. When he does that…then you should know that he's not the man that you were intended for. Being with him…it's not your destiny. You have to find another man. A better man. There are plenty of men out there, Scarlett, who would be willing to be your man. Plenty of men on this island, in fact. I've heard quite a few of them talking about how you're a great person and beautiful as well. Who knows, one of them could be _your_ one. Your man." Locke stopped talking and shrugged. "That's what I think, anyway. You can choose to take my advice or not, but you know what I think now, and that's all that I wanted."

Locke turned and started walking. Scarlett's eyes closed, and she felt the hot tears gathering behind her eyelids. She willed herself not to cry, but she couldn't help it. She felt herself beginning to shake. But this was not the panicked, frightened shake that she usually experienced. This was the mournful, sorrowful shake of someone trying not to cry.

She felt Boone's hand on her shoulder, and she turned into his embrace.

"Hey, it's all right," he whispered gently, putting one arm around her and the other at the back of her neck. "Don't worry."

Scarlett closed her eyes and imagined that she was standing back in that lonely hospital waiting room with Dan hugging her and telling her that it was all going to be all right. She imagined Nattie sitting in the plastic blue chair, hands folded in her lap as she watched the two of them; not fully comprehending what had happened.

"It's gonna be okay," she imagined Dan saying. "We're gonna make it through this just like we've done before. It's all right."

Scarlett began to sob; great, gulping sobs that tore at her body.

"Scarlett, Scarlett, hey," Boone said hurriedly, pushing her back to arm's length, brushing the hair away from her face and taking the sides of her face, forcing her to look at him. "Hey, it's okay, Scarlett. It's okay."

The whole situation reminded her of when Claire had awoken from that nightmare, and Charlie had comforted her in the same way. Charlie and Claire; just friends. Boone and Scarlett; just friends. Just _fucking _friends. But Claire would never believe that. Maybe that was because she wanted she and Charlie to be more than just friends, so she assumed that Scarlett wanted it as well.

Only the problem was, Scarlett herself wasn't exactly sure _what _she wanted.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

_(Boone, Scarlett, and Locke walk through the trees in the dark.)_

**Boone: **Are we lost, John?

**Locke: **No, we're not lost, Boone.

**Boone: **Sorry…it's just…I don't see how you can still be following this trail. I think we should go back, man.

_(Locke turns around to look at him.)_

**Locke: **Don't you feel it?

_(Cut to Boone.)_

**Boone: **All right, John, I'm gonna follow the strips back.

_(He and Scarlett start to turn around.)_

**Locke: **Boone!

_(Boone and Scarlett turn around. Locke tosses Boone a flashlight. He drops it and it makes a metal clanking noise. Everyone bends down to look at it.)_

**Boone: **What is that?

**Locke: **There's only one way to find out.

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	35. All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues 3

Oookay! Here's the update!

Thanks for reviewing, everyone! Please review again, and if you haven't reviewed before, then please start now, cus I loooove reviews!

I noticed that I got a lot of reviews regarding Boone in Do No Harm. So I figured I'd make a **_POLL_** about it. What should I do to Boone? Should I kill him or make him live? I think I've made up my mind on this one, but I just wanna see what you all think.

**Chrizz: **Hey, you never know who I'm gonna choose for Scarlett. Could be Boone, could be Sawyer. You just have to wait and find out! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

**WhatsGoingOn: **Stephen needs to go away forever and leave her alone! I really don't like him…Oh well. He's gone for now, and that's all that matters. I think _anyone _is better for Scarlett than Stephen! Hahaha! She'd be better off with _Jack_. Though…no way in hell is that gonna happen! Blech! Hehe! Thanks for the review!

**Dark Syrinx:** Yeah! Let's go beat down some Jack and Locke! We could _so _take those bastards! Hahaha! Charlie and Boone could help us cus they're cool like that. Besides, I have a feeling that Boone doesn't like Locke too much anymore!  
I had the same problem with the names! Imdb said it was Carlisle, and then it changed to Carlyle. So…I got really confused. But, I looked around and I found out that the real spelling is Carlyle. There's one point when Shannon has his wallet out and is looking at that picture of the two of them, and you see his passport or something, and you can see his name is Boone Carlyle.  
Hehe, let's castrate Jack! Then Kate will HAVE to go with Sawyer if she wants to have babies! Hehehe!  
I made Stephen nice in the flashabacks on purpose cus I didn't want him to be just a two dimensional character. He's not evil, he's just traumatized, kind of, by the accident I mentioned at the beginning of the story. So he's still that nice guy underneath it all, which is why it's so hard for Scarlett to just turn around and leave him.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **I thought the ending of that review was a little weird! Aha, that explains it! Hahaha.  
I can't promise anything regarding Scarlett, but as of now, I'm not planning on killing her off anytime soon, hahaha. Don't worry. I like her too! Hehe!  
That part with Locke predicting the weather always cracked me up! He was so cool back then. Then he had to go and sacrifice Boone to the island. Then I stopped liking him!  
Stephen angers me too. Guys like him piss me off!  
Dan was barely mentioned in the story before. I can't tell you who he is without completely giving the story away O:-) If you find it, though, I'll think you'll be able to unlock another of Scarlett's mysteries! Hehe! I like writing about Lost! You get to have so many twists and whatnot!  
Woot! No mistakes! There probably were some though, I bet! It's me! I always make mistakes! Haha! But why was your past hour and a half an odd one, if I DARE to ask!  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **I'm getting good at this remembering Izzy business! Hahaha!  
Preach was most definitely the coolest person! Next to Carter. I loved Carter too. And he lived too! Hahaha! I was soooo happy!  
Hahaha, trying to touch a ghost would not even cross my mind at all. I'd just be like "OMG!" and take off as fast as I could. I like to do new things…but I'm absolutely terrified of ghosts. Unless, of course, it came up to me and started chatting, then I'd probably want to give it a hug. If it was wailing and making scary noises, however, I would most definitely NOT want to be friends!  
I wanna go into a pyramid! How sick nasty was that! Hahaha! It would remind me distinctly of Tomb Raider, and I love that game.  
Yeah, the kid was being really annoying, so I just took off after him and got him off the bike and started hitting him. He was a cowardly little boy anyway. The thing is we're like wicked close friends now! Hahaha, funny how that works out!  
I don't think I got an e-mail…though I get a lot of emails that I just delete if they're not on my contacts list, because of my various yahoo groups and whatnot. If you sent it again, I'll look closer for it. But…what's the new rule? Too many rules on this site if you ask me…  
That's wicked sad! Why do people do stuff like that? I don't understand it. I think they should just stop and be happy!  
Hehe, yay! I make you happy! I looove making people happy. Idk why, but it's just a thing with me. Making people happy makes my day!  
Yeah, we start pretty late, though for America my town is starting relatively early! There are many towns around us that are starting even later! Hahaha, you should move to America and chill out here with me! Haha, that would be very fun!  
I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Winged Seraph: **Poor Scarlett is right! I feel so bad for her! I need to make her happy very soon! Hehe!  
I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Just A Fan: **Awwww! I'm glad you like the story! And I'm glad you like my Boone and my Sawyer! Hehe! I'm debating whether or not to kill off Boone, but I think I've finally settled on a decision. I think I MIGHT know what I'm gonna do, hahaha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Goddess247: **Hehehe, well, who knows what goes on in Hearts and Minds but me? She'll find out about Boone and Shannon eventually though. I can't promise when! Hehe! And oh yes, Sawyer most definitely does have a body to die for! Mmmm, delicious! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **I loved the Locke/Boone scenes too, at least until Locke went aol evil and got Boone killed! Argh! Hahaha!  
I just had to put that in…I mean…Locke tells him that there's another trail…you think that would be simple enough to grasp, huh? But apparently, Jack just didn't get it! Haha! Stupid Jack is right! Thanks for the review!

**Pink Hardcore: **Yeah I missed you! Hehehe!  
Haha, how many chapters did ya miss? Lots? Haha!  
I'm glad you kinda like both relationships. That's good cus I won't lose you if I do one and not the other. At least…I hope not! haha!  
Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're back!

**LeoChris: **There shall be more Scarlett/Sawyer eventually. Also more Scarlett/Boone! Hehe! I'm glad you review, even if you feel lke you haven't got anything to say. Cus I love reviews no matter how short they are! I'm just glad you like the story! Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Remember that this was back before Stephen turned into an asshole, so she could still trust him then. And she still loves him because…well…who knows? She just DOES! Haha. She'll get over him eventually!  
I know…school starts so late here…I still wish it never had to start! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily: **I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for the kind words! It makes me so happy! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (3): **The Hatch

Scarlett was done crying. The tears were gone, but she remained in Boone's embrace as Locke watched on patiently. He had known that that was going to happen. He had known that she was going to break down. And he knew that Boone would be there to pick up the pieces, just as he had been there to pick up the similarly shaped pieces of someone else all his life.

He knew a lot of things. The thing he didn't know was what she would decide. Stephen, or not? Boone, or another? There were so many questions that had been left unanswered; that he only _thought _he knew the answer to. He thought, but he didn't know, and that was why he was taking precautions. At least for a few days.

"You okay?" Boone asked, pulling her back again to look at her. Scarlett nodded dejectedly, looking ashamed of herself.

"Yeah," she said sheepishly. "'I'm sorry about that. I really shouldn't have…"

"No," Boone said quickly. "No, it's all right. Don't worry about it."

Scarlett smiled at him gratefully. He hugged her again; this time a tight, swift, friendly hug that was full of comfort and happiness.

"Thanks," she said to him softly. She turned to Locke. "I'm sorry."

"If I wasn't prepared for the consequences of pushing you as far as I did, then I would have never asked the questions that I asked," Locke replied with a friendly smile, and then he turned and continued walking.

The walked on as if nothing had happened, but Scarlett noticed that Boone walked a lot closer to her than he had before, and he always glanced at her, as if making sure that she wasn't going to disappear into her own thoughts. He knew those could be dangerous. He also kept her held in meaningless conversation for a majority of the time; avoiding anything that he thought might set her off.

And they walked on and on, closer to the thing that would set a series of events in motion that would change all of their lives forever.

* * *

It was completely dark when Boone decided that he had had enough.

"Are we lost, John?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"No, Boone," Locke replied, without the annoyance. "We're not lost."

"Sorry," Boone said with sincerity. "It's just…I don't see how you can still be following this trail. I think we should go back, man."

"Don't you feel it?" Locke asked, and Scarlett felt a chill traveling up her spine.

"Feel what?" Boone asked. He stepped closer to Scarlett. _Like a dog protecting its owner_, Scarlett thought with a wry smile.

"It," Locke replied, and all traces of a smile vanished from Scarlett's face. Boone looked at him for a while.

"All right, John," Boone said slowly. "I'm gonna follow the strips back."

Locke shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." He looked at Scarlett. "You going too?"

"Yeah, I'll go too," Scarlett said, though the thought of walking back towards the camp without finding any sign of Charlie or Claire was extremely frightening. She wondered again if Jack and Kate had managed to find anything.

Locke turned around and started to walk. Boone sighed and just took Scarlett's arm, leading her back towards where they had come.

"Boone," Locke called suddenly. Boone and Scarlett turned around. Locke waved the flashlight. "You need this more than I do," he said. He tossed the flashlight, and Boone fumbled with it before it fell to the ground with a metallic clank that was definitely not from the flashlight landing on dirt. All three adventurers froze for a moment, before all three bent down and looked at the ground. Boone picked up the flashlight.

"What is that?" he asked. He shone the flashlight down. Metal? Locke took out his knife and cleared the dirt. Then he jabbed his knife downwards. It made a thunking sort of sound. Boone looked at Scarlett uneasily, making the Wiggly Eyebrow Face.

"Steel," Locke remarked. Boone looked at him.

"Could that be part of the plane?" he asked. "Part of the wreckage?"

Locke just continued to tap at the places of the metal. One of the places sounded hollow.

"Is there something under there?" Scarlett asked. She put down the water she was carrying and the three of them started to push away the dirt. More and more metal was exposed.

"What is that?" Boone asked with a sort of horrified fascination. Locke looked up at him and smiled, which in the dark looked like a shark's smile.

"That's what we're gonna find out," he said, and the three of them fell to clearing the dirt away with an almost feverish motivation.

_There were tracks leading here_, Scarlett thought as she dug. _Leading this way. Locke said he felt it. This? This is it? What is it? _She scraped her hand on something sharp. An edge? No. A sort of pane with glass. She looked up at Locke. He was looking as if he had just discovered something amazing and beautiful, and not just a piece of metal on the ground.

"There's glass, here," she remarked, afraid and slightly disgusted at the sound of the greed in her voice. Why did she want to find out what the stupid thing was, anyway? She needed to find Charlie and Claire, and digging in the mud wasn't going to help her any.

"Where?" Locke asked with a hunger that frightened her. Scarlett felt herself flinch away from his eyes only slightly. Boone's reassuring hand on her back told her that she wasn't the only one who had noticed the change in Locke that she really didn't like.

"Here," she replied, pointing. Locke looked at it with the flashlight, and he smiled.

"Good," he said. "Keep digging."

And so they dug, and dug, and dug until they uncovered what it was. And what it was was most definitely a door of some kind. A door in the ground. Locke tried to open it, but there was no handle. _At least, not on the outside_, thought Scarlett suddenly, and the thought gave her shivers. Why would there be a handle on the inside? Unless someone was hiding inside, and didn't want anyone else to get in?

"We should go back," Boone said. "We'll come back tomorrow. Get Jack and some of the others to help…"

"No," Locke said suddenly, head snapping up from his fervent examination of the door. "No one else can know."

"Why?" Boone asked, looking concerned.

"Because Jack wouldn't understand. No one would understand. The two of _you _don't even understand. We need to keep this a secret. At least for now." Locke looked at them pointedly.

Neither Scarlett nor Boone could find a good reason to do otherwise.

* * *

A few moments later, Locke decided that it was probably a good idea to head back to camp. Everyone was getting pretty tired, and he knew that if they didn't get back, then people would worry and send out a search party. The chances of a search party stumbling across them, since he had followed his gut and not a trail, and since they had run out of red shirt and used far more subtle signs, were not very good, but he wasn't willing to take _any _chances.

The three of them walked back in the darkness, and Scarlett walked between Boone and Locke. In the darkness, the remembrance of her dream seemed even more real and frightening. The almost animalistic hunger that Locke had displayed back at the metal door in the ground (which he called the 'hatch') reminded her so much of how he had been in her dream when he shot Boone that it scared her to no end. She didn't want anything to happen to Boone, so she walked between them, watching him always. The one thing that never occurred to her was that Locke didn't have a gun.

"How long do you think this is going to take?" Boone asked, looking worried.

"Not too long, I hope," Locke replied with a smile; back to being jolly old John Locke once the hatch was out of sight. Boone laughed nervously, but Scarlett had a feeling that the thought of Locke's earlier actions wasn't quite out of his head like it clearly wasn't out of hers.

"I hope Jack and Kate found something," Scarlett remarked nervously as they walked on. "Like…Charlie and Claire."

"I'm sure they did," Locke said comfortingly.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell anyone about the hatch, John?" Boone asked with a humorless smirk. "Because, you know, Jack's gonna be a smug bastard when he finds out that we 'didn't find anything,' and he's going to shove it in your face that you followed the wrong trail."

Locke laughed for real this time, putting Scarlett greatly at ease. She laughed too.

"Well," he said. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it, with the own private satisfaction in me that we found much, much more."

Scarlett shrugged.

"Well, we found a piece of metal," she said with a grin. "I don't know how much more that is."

"Oh, we'll find out soon enough," Locke replied. "We'll leave the strips up. We need to find our way back here in the morning."

Boone nodded, and Scarlett nodded as well, though slightly slower. What would she tell Claire about going into the woods? Hunting? Sure, why not?

The thought hit her that she really, truly believed that Claire was back at camp; safe and sound and just a little scared. She didn't even entertain the thought that maybe Jack and Kate didn't really find anything either, and they were waiting for Locke, Boone, and herself to get back, because they thought that maybe _they _found something. They were going to get back to camp, and everything was going to be all better.

* * *

That wasn't the case. They walked into camp, and the first thing that Scarlett saw was Charlie, staring into the fire. She almost screamed, but just yelped quietly instead, and dropped her water before barreling over to him and sitting down beside him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug.

"Oh my God, you're okay," she sobbed. "Oh, Charlie, we were so worried! Where's Claire?"

She looked up at Charlie expectantly, and found him looking back, eyes filled with mourning. And then, as she watched on in horror, he started to cry. She wrapped her arms around him tighter, and he cried into her shoulder.

"All they wanted," he sobbed. "All they wanted was Claire."

Scarlett gazed at him, terrified. He moved his head forward, and saw that there was something on his neck. A big, red, irritated ring.

"What happened?" she asked, eyes wide with fear. "Oh my God, Charlie. What happened?" She was beginning to cry. "What happened?"

"We found him hanging by the tree," was Jack's quiet answer from over to the side. "He was dead, but I brought him back." He was standing beside her, and as he spoke he knelt down to her level. "Claire wasn't with him."

"Who took them?" Scarlett asked. "Did you find that out at all?"

"I'm assuming Ethan," Jack replied. "He attacked me in the woods. Kate was up ahead. I had fallen down a slope…Ethan told me that if we kept following him, then they would kill one of them. He did."

He sighed and shook his head.

"What about Claire?" Scarlett asked, still cradling Charlie as he cried. She had a feeling that she knew the answer.

"We didn't find her," Jack replied. "No sign at all."

Scarlett let out an involuntary sob, and she turned her attentions back to Charlie, holding him like a small child. Jack just remained there; looking like a little kid on Christmas whose parents couldn't afford presents. After a while, he got up and left. She heard Boone asking what happened.

After a while, Boone approached them and sat beside them, looking utterly distressed. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around Scarlett, as she held Charlie. She couldn't help but be reminded of the dream, when she had held Boone while Sawyer had held her. It was too much like it.

"We'll find her," Boone whispered. "Tomorrow, we'll go out and we'll find her. It's gonna be all right."

She tried to find comfort in those words, but she wasn't sure that she could believe them. There were too many doubts there. Too many fears that could very well become realities. Without even realizing that she had been shaking, she slid into unconsciousness.

* * *

_"Help me!"_

_This time, Scarlett knew that it was Claire that was screaming. She ran through the trees, her legs bleeding from the cuts she sustained from the undergrowth. There was an almost angelic chorus whispering through the trees, as the rain fell and the thunder boomed. Scarlett followed Claire's screams, and as she drew closer, she recognized the song. _

_"_Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile_."_

_She ran on. _

_"Help me!" Claire screamed. "Help me!"_

_"_The precious moments are all lost in the tide_."_

_"Please, help me! CHARLIE! Oh my God! You bastard! Stop! Let him go! NO! CHARLIE! NO!"_

_Charlie? Oh God, not Charlie!_

_"_They're swept away_," _

_"Claire, hold on!" she screamed. Someone behind her yelled her name. She turned around and saw that it was Sawyer._

_"I hear them!" he yelled over the sound of the singing and the rain. _

_"_And nothing is what it seems_."_

_"We have to help her!" she screamed, and she and Sawyer began to run again. She knew what was coming. She could feel the dread building in her. But she just couldn't stop running. _

_"_The feeling of belonging…to your dreams_."_

_They ran on, and they came to a rocky clearing. _

_"They're close," Scarlett whispered to Sawyer. "They're really close now."_

_She ran up the rocky hill. When she closed her eyes, she could see Ethan standing with one foot on Jack's chest, right down in that clearing, sneering in his face as he delivered his dire promise. _

_"If you don't stop following me…I will kill one of them."_

_"_Listen to your heart_."_

_She shuddered and opened her eyes, continuing her climb. That was in the past. The past. No looking back. No, no backward glances, as her mother would say. Watch the horizon, sweetheart. Nothing else you can do._

_"Help!"_

_"_When he's calling for you_."_

_She struggled up the rocky slope. She made it. She was at the top. She blinked and found that her eyes stayed closed, forcing her to see Kate and Jack walking into the clearing only to find Charlie dangling from a tree, a frayed rope of vines around his neck. They sobbed. Kate climbed the tree. They cut him down. Jack checked his pulse. Gone. He tried to bring him back. Nothing happened. Kate cried. Scarlett sobbed. Jack didn't give up. Charlie breathed, and there were tears of relief all around._

_Eyes open, blinded by the light. It's close to sunset. Where is she?_

_"Please, somebody help me!"_

_"_Listen to your heart_."_

_The chorus sang on. She ran right past the tangled mess of vines that had once supported Charlie's lifeless body without a second glance. Sawyer followed her. _

_"Where is she?" Scarlett screamed aloud, filled with fury. "Give her back!"_

_"_There's nothing else you can do_."_

_"Give her back!"_

_There was a crash, and the rain stopped, and the only noise was the crunching of leaves under her feet and the distant relieved sobs of Kate and Jack. Sawyer was still behind her. He was following her. The crash came again, louder this time. There was a yell. Then a scream._

_"_I don't know where you're going_."_

_Scarlett ran. Blood tumbled from the sky, dripping from the trees in an eerie rain of gore. The yell came again, fainter this time. The scream was louder._

_"Help me!"_

_"Stop him!"_

_The yell was yelling words, and Scarlett recognized the voice. It was Boone. Claire and Boone. Fucking three Musketeers. Now she was fucking D'Artagnan; on her own and breaking the rules. Fantastic Four? Only two members now. She had a feeling she wasn't fucking Mrs. Fantastic anymore. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

_"_And I don't know why_."_

_She ran on. They found Boone lying on the ground, gasping for breath. He was bleeding._

_"She's gone," he sobbed. "She's gone."_

_"Where?" Sawyer asked.  
"I don't know," Boone gasped. "They didn't…I couldn't…" He coughed, and Scarlett pulled him to his feet. _

_"Come on," she said. "We gotta get you to Jack."_

_"What about Claire?" Sawyer asked. _

_"She's gone," Boone replied drowsily, head lolling to one side. _

_"_But listen to your heart_."_

_"Well no shit she's gone! That's why we gotta find her! You ain't just gonna give up and leave her, are you?"_

_"She's fucking _gone, _man!" Boone exclaimed, suddenly having the energy to jump to his feet and spread his arms wide, like a cross. "They took her and they aren't giving her back."_

_"We have to get her back," Scarlett sobbed. Boone turned to her. _

_"I know," he said, suddenly gentle. _

_"_Before…_"_

_He embraced her, and Sawyer embraced the two of them. Scarlett never expected the gunshot. _

_"_You tell him goodbye_."_

_Boone fell to the ground, eyes glazed over with the approach of death. Scarlett looked towards where the shot had come from, from behind Boone, and she saw that Ethan stood there; his friendly smile suddenly seeming fiendish and too-wide. Sawyer tackled him and Scarlett looked up to the raining sky. _

_"Shut up!" she yelled to the voice that was singing. Her voice. "Shut up! Shut up!"_

_"Should have just listened, babe," came Stephen's eerie chuckle. _

_"Should have listened." Was that Anthony?_

_She looked down at Boone. He looked back up, eyes frozen. He had died when she wasn't looking. She hadn't gotten to hear him speak his last. She hadn't gotten to tell him…well, she wasn't sure _what _she would tell him, but she wanted to be able to talk to him. But he was gone. She would never talk to him again. _

_She knelt beside him and slowly, carefully, reached her trembling hand out and placed her hand above his eyes. She closed her own and then gently lowered her hand to his, flinching at the coldness of his flesh, though he had died only moments before. Or had it been hours? She didn't know. She didn't care. _

_Slowly, with the air of someone who doesn't want to believe that something has really happened, Scarlett closed Boone's eyes, as the singing continued like a broken record, repeating that same line. Stephen stood in front of her, grinning, as Sawyer and Ethan fought in the background. _

_"I fucking told you, baby," Stephen laughed. "I told you, didn't I? This ain't paradise. This is Hell."_

_Scarlett lowered her head and began to sob; her tears falling onto Boone's body and clearing away the blood. She wanted to scream, to fight with Sawyer. But all she could do was sit there and cry and listen to that god_damned _song. That horrible line. _

_"_Listen to your heart. Before…you tell him goodbye."

_"I fucking told you," Stephen said one last time, and then he was gone. Boone was gone. Sawyer was gone. Ethan and Jack and Kate and Charlie and Anthony's disembodied voice that she had thought she'd heard, and everyone. It was just Scarlett, kneeling in the trees and sobbing. And then even the trees were gone, and the grass and the leaves, and she was alone in the blackness, kneeling and crying and listening to that song. _

_"Help me!"

* * *

_

Scarlett jolted awake, panting for breath with horror. She was facing the cave wall. She turned to the other side and saw, not three feet away, Boone. He was lying, his face towards her, eyes closed, and for one heart-stopping moment she thought he was dead. Then, she saw his chest move and she breathed easier.

"Hey, you're awake."

Scarlett jolted as those eyes opened and stared into hers, and he sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from them tiredly.

"What happened?" she asked, trying and failing to keep her voice under control. Boone looked at her with concern.

"You passed out," he said, looking like he wanted to say something else. "Without warning. You just kind of…went limp. I don't think Charlie or me even realized what had happened until a few moments later."

He grinned without humor, and she grinned back similarly, though slightly shaky. She finally sat up as well, looking around. Claire's stuff was gone. She felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Boone said suddenly. "Don't cry, Scar. We're gonna find her."

_Scar_. The nickname barely even registered in her mind. She wondered dimly what she could call him for a nickname. Boone already sounded like someone's nickname.

"I can't help but worry," Scarlett said instead. "I can't…it's so scary."

"I know," Boone said, sounding like he really understood. And he did. "I know it is. But we'll find her and everything will be okay."

"I hope so," Scarlett said sullenly.

"I know so," Boone retorted. "Now come on. Go to sleep. Jack would bite my head off if he knew I was keeping you up."

"Trust me, I'd be awake anyway," Scarlett said sadly. Boone sighed and moved slightly closer to her. It reminded her of the second night out there, when they had been in the woods after they had discovered the French lady's transmission. Boone had been scared and she had comforted him, and he had moved closer to her as she slept. Now it was the same thing, only this time there was something much worse at hand. Claire was gone. She was maybe never coming back. Scarlett moved closer to Boone as well.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm right here if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded.

"Okay," she said tremulously. "Thanks, Boone."

"No problem," he said tenderly, looking like he was going to cry. "Try not to worry. We're going to find her tomorrow. I talked to John. He said that he's going to the hatch, but we can go look for Claire. He said that he wouldn't mind."

"Okay," Scarlett said again. She felt like a small child that had just woken up from a bad dream and needed to be comforted and told that the monsters weren't real.

"You gonna be okay?" Boone asked. "You gonna be able to sleep?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, and she thought that she might just be telling the truth. "I think so. Thanks, Boone."

"Yeah," Boone said, grinning. "No problem."

Scarlett closed her eyes and listened to her own breathing and her own beating heart. She could barely even remember the dream now; only that it involved Boone dying. That on its own was traumatizing enough for her to want to forget it.

She hoped that she and Boone found something the following day. She hoped that she found something at _all_. She wondered if maybe Sawyer would like to help her search. She hadn't talked to him in a while…did he even know that Claire was missing?

* * *

Boone watched Scarlett sleep for a long, long time, worrying about her and wondering if Claire was going to be okay. His mind wandered idly back to the conversation he had had only an hour before with Locke.

"You and Scarlett should go out looking for Claire tomorrow," the older man had said. "I'll handle the hatch by myself."

"Are you sure?" Boone had asked. "I mean…neither of us are really trackers. We're not gonna be able to find anything. What if one of us gets hurt?"

"Nothing's going to happen to you," Locke had said. "Don't worry."

Strange enough, Locke's words had put him at peace. He felt safe. He didn't understand why those simple words from Locke could make him feel that way, like he really _was _safe, even though he knew perfectly well that he wasn't.

So he lay and he watched Scarlett and he waited for sleep to overtake him, because he would go out there with Scarlett and he would find Claire, and he wouldn't be afraid. He would help her like he had helped Shannon all those years, and he knew that Scarlett would appreciate it much, much more than Shannon ever had.

With those thoughts in mind, he drifted off into sleep. And when he slept, he dreamed of _his _choice. The choice that he was going to be forced to make very soon. And he dreamt of his death, as he did every night; but when the morning came, he would deny ever having that dream, just to make Scarlett feel better.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

_(Scarlett walks up to Jack and Kate)_

**Scarlett: **Me, Boone, and Sawyer are going to go out looking for Claire today.

**Jack: **You're going out there alone? With only Sawyer and… _(He stifles a laugh) _Boone?

_(Scarlett takes a step towards him)_

**Scarlett: **I'm going out there because I'm not satisfied with just getting one of them back. If Sawyer and Boone are the only ones who care enough to go with me, then so be it.

_(Cut to Sawyer and Boone standing and talking. Cut to Sun watching them sadly. Cut to Kate running up to Scarlett and Boone and Sawyer.)_

**Kate: **I'm coming with you. You're right. One isn't enough.

_(Everyone smiles. They head into the woods. Cut to Kate and Scarlett walking.)_

**Scarlett: **Claire used to always try to get me to admit that I had a thing for either Boone or Sawyer. I never would. I'd repeat myself over and over again until I was blue in the face, but it wouldn't do me any good because Claire would never ever believe me.

**Kate: **And you don't believe me now, I assume.

**Scarlett: **Not really. I learned the hard way that Claire was right.

_(Kate's eyebrows rise)_

**Kate: **Really? About who?

_(Scarlett smiles.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	36. Whatever The Case May Be Part 1

Ummm….Goddamn rule! I'm like…itching to respond to the reviews, but I don't want this story to be removed if I do so…aaahhhhh! Okay…well…I'll just wait and review the reviews when the goddamned rule gets taken down…..I hate it!

Well, the Boone dying/living poll ended up as….

Live: 3

Die: 1

Unsure: 1

Unanswered: 4

So…so far the Pro-life (okay…..horrible, but I thought it was funny) people are stronger in numbers.

Fuck…I want to responndddd! So many things to sayyy…Oh well, hopefully that rule goes away soonn….

Oh…I'm not responding to **Izzy **when I say that I signed the e-mail and sent it to all my reviewers. I am also not responding to her when I say that I do not have MSN, but I have AIM. Nor am I responding to her when I say that the kid who I beat up and am now friends with was fourteen, and I was sixteen. I am not responding to **Hekate-Trivia** when I say Infinite hugs back for the sweet reviews and hugging you gave me on fictionpress. I am also not saying '2 exes? You player!' to her. I am not responding to **Chrizz **when I say that indeed Scarlett reveals her little crush in this chapter. I am not responding to **everyone **when I say that I 'won't' respond to any questions that people have, and thank you so much for the reviews, and please review again. :D

Damn rule.

* * *

**Whatever The Case May Be (1): **Him

Scarlett opened her eyes.

Blank cave wall met her sleepy, half-lidded gaze. She sighed morosely and sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She glanced to the other side of her. Boone was still sleeping. If he had been sleeping any closer, people would have thought they had been sleeping _together_. The thought embarrassed Scarlett, and she got up quicker than usual.

She grabbed a water bottle (not sure if it was hers or not, but it didn't really matter), and headed over to the waterfall glumly. She wanted to get down to the beach to talk to Sawyer before it got too late…

"Scarlett?"

Scarlett jumped with surprise and turned around to see who had spoken. It wasn't a voice she recognized. She saw Sun standing there, glancing around furtively.

"Sun," she said, recovering from her surprise. "What's wrong?"

"I want to talk to you," Sun said. "But…away from here. Hidden from the others."

"Right," Scarlett said. "Where?"

"Follow me."

Sun began to walk, and Scarlett followed. Sun stopped in the middle of a small clearing, which had the leaves cleared out, leaving only dirt.

"What's this?" Scarlett asked, cocking her head to one side.

"I'm making a garden," Sun said with a smile.

"That's a great idea!" Scarlett exclaimed.

"Food is getting scarce," Sun explained. "I thought a garden would be a good idea."

Scarlett nodded.

"A very good idea," she said. "You're right."

There was a short pause, and then Sun shifted slightly, looking like she was about to say something. After another pause, she finally said it.

"I know that you were friends with the pregnant girl," she said. "Claire was her name, I think?"

"Yeah. Claire," Scarlett said sadly.

"I wanted to talk to you. Tell you that I believe she's going to be all right."

Scarlett smiled sadly.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I hope you're right."

"I hope so too," Sun replied, smiling. "My husband, last night, he was saying that he wished he could speak English so he could tell you that he is sorry for what happened." She smiled. "It is not often that he says things like that. He says that you seem like a very nice girl. He says that you remind him of me."

Scarlett felt herself blushing with happiness. Jin certainly didn't seem to be the kind of guy who would like many people. The fact that he thought that he saw something good in her made her feel slightly comforted.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm glad that he…cares." There was another short pause. Scarlett stuttered over the words for a few moments before finally getting the courage to ask what she had been meaning to ask for a long time. "Sun? Why are you afraid to let Jin know that you speak English."

Sun's face clouded over and she looked at the ground sadly.

"He does not know because I did not want him to," she responded. "I…I haven't told anyone…but I was planning on leaving him at the airport in Sydney. I was going to run away."

"Why?" Scarlett asked, slightly surprised by this information. "Was he… mean to you?"

"Yes," Sun replied, though it looked like it pained her to admit it. "He was cold and harsh. Impatient. Working for my father changed him greatly. It made him like he is now. Mistrusting. Frightened to get too close to anyone, including his own wife."

She gave a heavy, weary sigh and kneeled down, starting to work on the garden. Scarlett sat down with her.

"But you went with him," she said. "Why?"

"Because…because he showed me a flower." Sun smiled wistfully. "Before we were married…he used to give me a single white flower. It was small, but I loved when he did that. He did not need expensive things to get me to love him. But…after working for my father for so long, he seemed to forget that. When I was about to leave him…when he was in line, buying the tickets…he held up a flower. I just could not leave him after that. I still loved him. I still do."

She gave a sad sigh and shook her head.

"But if he hurt you…then maybe he's not the one for you," Scarlett said, remembering what Locke had said the day before.

"But he did not hurt me any more than he loved me," Sun replied. "He hurt me, yes, but it was not in his heart. He still loves me. I think that maybe…maybe being on this island is the best thing that could have happened. He is away from my father, and he is beginning to show his love again."

Scarlett looked at the ground.

"So you think that even if someone hurts you, then you should fight for it?" she asked. "Even if he makes you cry every night and makes you want to leave him…you should stay with him because of a memory?"

"In my case, yes," Sun replied. "Because I know that Jin can and will change."

Scarlett thought of Stephen, and of how he had changed because of that accident…that fucking accident. He was only twenty at the time. Too young…and she was only sixteen. They were both too young to face what was going to happen after that. She was too young to face that pain.

"Did you ever dread the moment that Jin came home?" she asked. "Did you ever hear his car and hope that it was just a friend or someone else other than him?"

"No," Sun replied, looking suspicious suddenly. "I didn't. Because I knew that even if Jin was in a horrible mood, he would not hurt me. He would yell and be irritable…but he would not… hit me."

She looked at Scarlett pointedly, and Scarlett nodded, admitting defeat. She stood up.

"I should go back," she said. "I'm going to look for Claire this morning with Boone."

"Good," Sun replied. "You shouldn't give up hope."

"I'm not planning on it," Scarlett replied, grinning sadly. Sun stood up as well.

"Before you go," she said. "Remember that every man is different. Some men are just too far broken to be mended, and it is them that you have to give up on. If you have tried too long to fix the rips and heal the wounds, then maybe it's time to use your love for some other man who needs fixing." She gave Scarlett a pointed look. Scarlett, without warning, hugged her. Sun seemed surprised at first, but then she hugged back.

"Thank you," Scarlett whispered. "I think your words made more sense than all the rest."

Sun watched Scarlett go with a sad smile on her face. She wondered what the future would bring to that poor girl, who wore happiness like a mask over the scarred and painful reality beneath. She could only hope that her words had begun the process of healing that scar tissue; of reforming the beauty that life was supposed to be. She could only hope that everything was going to be okay.

With that thought in mind, she started back to the caves to find Jin.

* * *

Scarlett wandered back to the caves to find Sawyer and Boone standing and talking. When Sawyer saw her, he made the most heart-broken face she had ever seen. He looked as though he was dying inside because of her pain. Boone turned around as he noticed the change in Sawyer's facial expression, and his face took on the same qualities. Scarlett felt a lump growing in her throat. These two _cared _about her. The feeling of being cared for wasn't one she was used to, and it surprised her to realize it.

"Hey," Sawyer said sadly. "I…um…heard about Claire."

"Yeah," Scarlett responded in the same tone. The three of them just stood there, staring across the caves at one another, wondering what to do or say that would break the awkward silence.

"We're going to go looking for her today," Boone said to the other man. "Do you want to come?"

Sawyer paused for a long moment, thinking. Then, he nodded.

"I'll come," he said. "Nothing better to do around here anyway."

He shot a glare over at Kate and Jack, who were chatting amiably. Scarlett couldn't help a smile.

"When are we leaving?" she asked Boone. Boone shrugged.

"I'm ready when you are," he replied. Scarlett nodded.

"Now?" she asked. "When we get ready, I mean."

"Yeah," Sawyer said. "Sounds good."

"I have to go ask Kate something," Scarlett said, and she turned and walked towards Jack and Kate, who were now looking angrily at one another. When they saw her, both of them stopped talking and turned to face her.

"Hey," Kate said. "How you doing?"

"I'm okay," Scarlett said, drawing in a deep breath. "Me, Boone, and Sawyer are going to go out looking for Claire today. Did you leave the strips from the shirts up on the trees?"

"Yeah," Kate said, nodding. She looked like she was going to say something else, but Scarlett kept going, not giving her a chance.

"Okay," Scarlett said. "Because we were going to go along the same path that you and Jack took."

"You're going out there alone?" Jack asked. "With only Sawyer and…Boone?"

She didn't like the way he almost laughed when he said Boone's name; as if he was hardly worth mentioning. She glared at him.

"I'm going out there," she said through clenched teeth. "Because I'm not satisfied with just getting one of them back. I'm going out looking, and if Sawyer and Boone are the only ones who care enough to go with me, then so be it."

Jack made a face.

"I have to stay here," he said. "I have people to take care of…"

He stopped when he realized what he was saying. Scarlett shot him a look filled with so much anger that he almost took a step back.

"Really?" she said sarcastically. "That didn't seem to bother you at all yesterday."

She turned around and walked away, feeling the anger boiling inside of her. Behind her, Kate and Jack kept talking. She walked up to where Boone and Sawyer were watching her and took the water bottles that Boone was holding out, putting them in her bag idly. Then she grabbed some new clothes and walked a little way into the woods to change into them. She wore Carol's jeans and the same red spaghetti-strap top from the day before.

When she emerged from the woods, Kate was with Boone and Sawyer, talking to them and shouldering a backpack. She saw Scarlett and smiled sadly.

"I'm coming with you," she said. "You're right. One isn't enough."

Scarlett smiled at Kate.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm glad _you _care."

Kate nodded seriously.

"I do," she said. "I really do care."

Scarlett nodded as well and turned to the two men, who were standing and watching silently.

"Ready to go?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah," both replied in unison. Scarlett smiled at them sadly. She couldn't help but feel nervous…but yet she felt a sense of hope. They were going to find Claire. They _had _to.

"Kate? Are you really going with them?"

Everyone turned around to look at Jack. Scarlett was slightly amused that all three of them heaved similar sighs of annoyance.

"Yeah," Kate said, giving him a look which clearly showed that she didn't know why it was such a big deal. "I'm going with them."

"I need you here," Jack said lowly.

"They need me more," Kate retorted sourly. "If you need someone to do something, get one of the other thirty….whatever people out here to do it."

Jack's head snapped back comically, and he gaped at her with surprise.

"Why do you want to go with them?" he asked, but it was clear that Kate had already won the argument; if it could even be called that.

"We'll talk when I get back," Kate said. With a small glare, she turned and walked off. Boone smirked at Jack and followed her. Scarlett smiled at him as well, shrugged, and then walked after Boone. Sawyer smiled widely at Jack.

"Later, Doc," he said smartly, and then saluted crookedly, turned on his heel, and strode forward, slowing down once he reached Kate. Behind them, Jack simmered with anger, watching them until they disappeared into the trees.

* * *

They walked on for a little while in silence. Kate pointed out the markers as they walked along, telling them to try to remember specific things that they were passing, just in case something happened to the markers as they were walking. Boone had brought several more brightly colored shirts that they could use for markers, so they were set for the trip.

Scarlett walked with Kate, as Boone and Sawyer walked behind them. The men were talking in low voices so that the women couldn't hear.

"Guy talk," Kate said with a small smile. She seemed relaxed; almost happy. Scarlett had a feeling that it had something to do with being away from Jack. Maybe there _was _something between the two of them, but it was definitely not always a good something on Kate's side.

"Of course," Scarlett laughed. "Wonder what they're talking about?"

"Who knows," Kate replied with a smirk. "Though, since Sawyer's one-half of that conversation…I'd say either booze or women."

Scarlett and Kate both laughed, and then grew thoughtfully silent again. It felt like any chance at a happy mood was gone the moment it appeared. The thought of what they were doing, and what was at stake, was too grim and frightening for any good mood to last long.

"What was that with Jack back there?" Scarlett asked. Kate shrugged.

"I don't know," she said with a sigh. "He doesn't like me going off into the woods, I guess. He has this idea that I can't protect myself or something. I don't know. He's been making up excuses for me to stay at the caves since I went up there for water. He really can be a jerk sometimes."

She sighed and shook her head. Scarlett had a feeling she wasn't the only one torn between two men.

"What about Sawyer?" she asked. "What do you think about him?"

"Sawyer?" Kate asked, smiling slightly. "Well, let's just say that Sawyer's not really my type."

"You don't know that," Scarlett laughed. "He might be just your type! I see the two of you laughing an awful lot when you're together."

"Yeah, but still. Sawyer is definitely not my type of guy. Rebellious, sullen, withdrawn…"

"Sounds like you," Scarlett remarked casually. Kate shot her a glance.

"I…" she started. Then she stopped and thought for a moment. "Okay," she said after a pause. "Maybe that is a bit like me, but that doesn't mean that Sawyer's my type. It doesn't mean that at all."

"You sound like me," Scarlett laughed. "Claire used to always try to get me to admit that I had a thing for either Boone or Sawyer. I never would. I'd say the exact same things that you were saying; just repeating myself over and over again until I was blue in the face, but it wouldn't do any good because Claire would never _ever _believe me."

"And you don't believe me now, I assume," Kate replied with a smile.

"Not really," Scarlett retorted. "I learned the hard way that Claire was right."

Kate's eyebrows rose about an inch.

"Really?" she said in the tone that most people used when they hear some juicy bit of gossip. "About who?"

Scarlett smiled.

"You really want to know?" she asked.

"Of _course _I really want to know!" Kate retorted, "Please?"

Scarlett shrugged.

"Well," she said. "See…"

"Hey," Boone said suddenly, appearing next to Scarlett. She jumped in surprise and laughed.

"Hey," she said, grinning at him. "You're interrupting girl-talk."

"Oh. Sorry," Boone laughed, but he made no move to leave.

"She was just about to tell me something _really _important," Kate said.

"It's not _really _important," Scarlett said mockingly. Kate laughed.

"To me it is!" she exclaimed.

"You don't seem like the kind of person who'd be interested in that kind of gossip," Scarlett remarked, grinning.

"Well I _am_," Kate reported. Scarlett laughed.

"Oh, _that _kind of gossip," Boone said with a raised eyebrow, rolling his eyes. "Well, I guess I'm not allowed to hear that, am I?"

"Nope," both Kate and Scarlett said at the same time. Boone laughed.

"Maybe I should just stay here…" he said slowly, but at a fake glare from both women, he laughed and walked back to where Sawyer was waiting.

"What the hell was that?" they heard Sawyer asking.

"I wanted to make sure she was okay," was Boone's quiet reply; which was probably not meant to carry over to the two women up ahead. But, of course, it did. Kate smiled at Scarlett, giving her a look that clearly said 'he's _so _adorable'. Scarlett had to agree. She nodded. Kate smiled.

"I think I might know," she said.

"Probably," Scarlett replied with a small smile.

"Because, you know, it's not _totally _obvious," Kate said with a laugh.

"Is it really?" Scarlett asked. Then she paused, then sighed. "I feel like I'm like…twelve years old. This is ridiculous."

"Don't worry about it," Kate laughed. "A crush is a crush, no matter how old you are."

Scarlett laughed.

"That it is," she replied. "And this one seems to be growing."

"Good," Kate said, smiling. "Now all I have to do is decide on who _I _want."

"We're like kids in a candy shop," Scarlett laughed. "Hmm…who do I want…oh, I want _that _one!"

"Well, _I _think you made the right choice," Kate said pointedly.

"Oh, and I wonder why that is," Scarlett said sarcastically. Kate laughed.

"Hey, I'm not saying anything," she said. "I'm considering it…just not deciding yet."

"Well, I say go for it," Scarlett said with a grin. "After all, the four of us are alone in the jungle…"

Kate laughed and so did Scarlett. The light mood managed to last more than three minutes, and both of them were very happy about that.

* * *

Their laughter carried back to Sawyer and Boone, who were talking about Boone's mother. Somehow, Sawyer knew who she was.

"Looks like they're having a pretty good time," Boone remarked, smiling.

"Well, they should be," Sawyer said. Boone gave him a weird look, and Sawyer shook his head. "Not should be…they _deserve_ to be."

"Yeah," Boone remarked sadly. "They really do."

"Especially Scarlett," Sawyer continued. "She's really been having a rough time out here, huh?"

"Yeah," Boone replied. "Not just out here though."

"Oh, I know," Sawyer replied. "Trust me. She told me about all of that."

"She did?" Boone asked, trying not to look hurt, but not managing really well.

"Yeah," Sawyer replied. "Don't read too much into it, kid. I caught her at her most vulnerable a few days after we crashed."

"She doesn't want to be rescued, does she?" Boone asked, quite obviously changing the subject. "She calls the caves home. She tells us…well, told us, me and Claire, that there was nowhere in the world she'd rather be than on the beach with the two of us. It just seemed to me like she _wanted _to be here."

"From what I understand, being here is a Hell of a lot better than being where she used to be," Sawyer replied. "I'd say she probably likes it here more than she's ever liked it anywhere in her whole life. Freckles seems to be the same way." He looked at Kate thoughtfully for a few moments, then shook his head. "Aw, hell. I just don't know. Those two are a mystery that I don't even want to try to figure out."

"Yeah," Boone agreed. "I haven't talked much to Kate…but she seems like she doesn't let much be known about herself."

"Nope," Sawyer laughed. "The woman is the most withdrawn thing I've ever met in my life. I'm lucky if I can ever get her to smile." He shook his head. "What about yours?"

"My what?" Boone asked, absently taking a sip of his water.

"Your woman. Scarlett."

Boone swallowed the water too quickly, and began to cough.

"Who said she's my…woman?" he asked when the coughing subsided.

"_Please_," Sawyer said sarcastically. "Don't even start with that. There ain't a damn soul on this island who don't know you got feelings for the girl. I say go for it. You two would suit each other well."

"Sawyer, I don't have… feelings for Scarlett," Boone said slowly.

"Sure you do," Sawyer replied. "There may be feelings for someone else, somewhere in that head of yours, but you know that you feel something for the girl deep down. That someone else…she ain't the one for you."

"What?" Boone asked, giving Sawyer a look.

"Hell, I like playing detective, and playing detective led me to a little discovery."

He looked at Boone pointedly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Boone asked, starting to get slightly irritated.

"I found your passport," Sawyer remarked. "Boone Carlyle. . Brown hair. Blue eyes. Area of residence, Los Angeles, California. Date of birth…well, you get the picture. And then I found another passport. Picture told me it was Shannon Carlyle. Passport told me it was Shannon Rutherford."

"She was married," Boone said quickly.

"Yeah? Found that out too. Guy's name wasn't Rutherford."

"How'd you find that out?" Boone asked irritably.

"Let's just say she got mad at this guy and wrote about him in her diary."

"You bastard," Boone said lowly.

"Hey, I didn't read it for anything other than informational purposes. But it did give me a nice lovely little story about two certain step-siblings that spent a night together in Sydney."

Boone paled. His reaction was almost like Scarlett. He was even beginning to shake. But rather than angry, he looked frightened.

"What did it say?" he asked. He hadn't even known that she _kept _a diary.

"It said that she wasn't ever gonna do anything like that again," Sawyer said seriously. "It said that she enjoyed it, and you were great in bed, but she didn't feel anything for you other than lust."

The look on Boone's face was one of absolute depression. Sawyer felt bad for the poor kid.

"Did it really say that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sawyer replied. "It really did."

"Can I have the diary?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said immediately. "When we go back, come to the beach with me, and I'll give it to you."

"Thanks," Boone replied. There was a short silence, and Boone took another sip of water, looking listless and unfocused.

"Anyway, that's why I think you should try and find someone else to do your lovin' with," Sawyer said quickly. "Find someone who could actually use it, and who actually wants it."

Boone sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

"I think I know what you should do," Sawyer replied. "But that's just me."

Sawyer walked up to Kate and Scarlett, who started chatting with him amiably. Boone remained slightly behind, thinking.

So Shannon didn't love him. Didn't even care about him. Well, that wasn't really a surprise. Hadn't he known that from the beginning? Hadn't he known that she didn't see him as anything more than just a plaything? After all, who would love Boone Carlyle? The thought embittered him and made him feel slightly lightheaded with anger. He idly kicked at a clump of dirt, and took another swig of his water, wishing that he had some more of Sawyer's alcohol.

"Boone?"

Boone looked up, surprise registering on his face. Scarlett was standing and watching him. Kate and Sawyer were walking ahead. Scarlett had stopped. Boone stopped as well. Scarlett saw his expression and laughed.

"I swear, you were a dog in another life," she said. She grew serious. "Are you all right? Sawyer said something about you being in a bad mood…"

Boone glared ahead to Sawyer. The other man turned around, grinned, and waved before walking on with Kate.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "I'm okay. Thanks, though."

Scarlett dropped back alongside him, and the two of them continued walking side-by-side.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You don't look all right."

"I'm fine," Boone muttered. "Honestly."

"Okay," Scarlett said, sounding reluctant. "Whatever you say."

Boone glared at her, but it was playfully. He could never stay in a bad mood for long around Scarlett. She was a great friend to have.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just…thinking."

"Oh," Scarlett said nervously. "Well, do you want to be alone, because…I could leave you alone, if you wanted."

"No, that's all right," Boone said quickly. "I like the company."

They smiled at each other, and walked on in a companionable and thoughtful silence.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

_(Scarlett and Boone are laughing and talking. They walk forward and see Sawyer and Kate talking and looking around frantically.)_

**Boone: **What is it?

**Kate: **The trail…it's gone.

_(Cut to the four of them walking through the rain. They come to a thick network of small trees, which form a sort of shelter.)_

**Kate: **Come on. Here. Let's rest for a little bit.

_(They all sit on the ground, huddling together for warmth. Suddenly, there's a loud crashing noise.)_

**Kate: **What was that?

_(Everyone gets to their feet.)_

**Boone: **Did that sound like…

_(The crashing noise comes again, and then a roar.)_

**Kate: **Oh my God…Run! We have to run!

**Next Time On: Just Another Castaway**


	37. Whatever The Case May Be Part 2

I suppose I'll post the chapter now. Though I'm still mad about all this rule business

Not in a very good mood today, hahaha. Please review and make it better! Please, please, pretty please :D

I love you guys all very much! (don't worry, I won't go getting all emotional-bad-mood-sappy on you guys! The sappy ends there! Hahaa)

That was so short, but I got nothing else to say :( DAMN RULE!

* * *

**Whatever The Case May Be (2): **Jungle Terror

_"Hey Scarlett, catch!" yelled Carol, throwing the bag of popcorn across the room. Scarlett caught it and flopped on the couch. _

_"This is great," she laughed. "Just like back when we were kids."_

_"Hey, we still _are _kids," Carol laughed. "We're only twenty!" She grinned at Scarlett. "We're allowed to have some fun once and a while."_

_Carol turned on the news, where something about a lottery winner was on. _

_"Lucky bastard," Scarlett laughed. "I wish I could win the lottery."_

_Carol shook her head. "Lucky man."_

_"No kidding," Scarlett laughed. The two of them changed the channel to a movie, and settled back to watch. _

_"Hey, I wonder if Stephen could come," Carol said thoughtfully. _

_"Let's just have this be you and me," Scarlett said carefully. "We haven't had a night like that in a while."_

_"Yeah, you're right," Carol said with a smile for her friend. "Let's just do that then. Popcorn?"_

_Scarlett smiled and took a handful of popcorn, and then turned her attention to the movie. _

_A week later, she left for Australia.

* * *

_

They walked on for a long while, before they finally reached the spot where Kate said that Charlie had been hung. Scarlett noticed that it looked exactly the same as it had in her dream. Somehow, she wasn't all that surprised. She looked around for a little bit. There was a strip of shirt lying on the ground, along with a thick rope of vines.

"This is where he was…hanging," Kate said slowly.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. There was nothing else to say.

They all stood there for a few moments until Kate said that they should start moving. Somberly, they kept going, all walking in a huddle. The reality of it all just seemed to strike them, and they were unusually quiet. No light mood would touch them even for a few hopeful moments where they were.

"Where are we going?" Boone asked Kate nervously; just to break the silence.

"We're following the trail," Kate replied.

"There's still a trail?" Scarlett asked hopefully.

"A faint one," Kate replied. "I'm not even sure if these are all footprints, but I think they are." She pointed. "And there's plenty of broken things. Leaves, twigs…" She pointed to another example. "I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that they went this way."

"Then let's go this way," Sawyer said with a smile. Scarlett tried to smile, but found that it wasn't easy as all that. She just managed to smirk slightly. Boone put a hand on her back comfortingly.

"Come on," he said, looking down at her sadly. "Let's keep moving."

"Yeah," she said, nodding.

"Okay," Kate said. "Just follow me."

"Yeah, probably a good idea, Freckles," Sawyer laughed. "Seeing as how you're the only one here who knows what the hell they're doing."

Scarlett walked behind Sawyer, and Boone walked last, looking behind him a bunch to make sure that there was nothing creeping out of the trees to get him. Every so often, he would stop to tie a marker, and Scarlett would stop with him; afraid to leave him alone for more than a few moments.

Talking to Kate had really opened her eyes to the whole situation. They were stuck on an island, with no rescue in sight…why bother thinking about Stephen at all? Besides, it wasn't like the thing that she wanted to happen with Boone was going to be anything extremely serious. Just someone to be there for her, and she would be there for him. It wouldn't be like what she had with Stephen. Not at all.

But the more she thought about Stephen, the more she wished that he was there, with her, and that his arms were around her; protecting her and keeping her safe from everything that was going on. She knew he would, too. He would protect her. He would make sure that she was okay…wouldn't he?

She thought about it, and kept thinking about it until she was starting to doubt her earlier thoughts. What if he _wasn't _the man that she thought he was. What if Carol had been right that day that she left for Australia? What if he _wasn't _the same man that he had been before the accident?

The realization that maybe she was loving a memory, and not the man at all, literally stopped her in her tracks, nearly causing Boone to run into her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she mumbled in reply, and she kept going. Boone glanced at her, his expression one of concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. She smiled at him genuinely. "Really."

She was better than she had been in a while, despite the fact that Claire was still missing. She was better than she had ever been despite the fact that they were stranded on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. She was better than ever because she was finally free of that memory. That memory of Stephen's promise. _"I'll never do anything like that to you. I promise." _

The promise hadn't lasted long, but the memory had, and it was time for that memory to die.

"Good," Boone replied with another, pleased, smile. "I'm glad. Come on. We'd better catch up."

When he took her arm, like he had been doing for the past couple of days, Scarlett didn't automatically remember a time when Stephen had done the same thing. Instead, she enjoyed the feeling of the flush creeping up her arm, and then back down. She smiled again.

"Yeah," she said. "We should."

The two of them caught up to Kate and Sawyer, who were talking in low voices.

"What is it?" Boone asked, immediately noticing that something was wrong. Kate looked at them, distressed.

"The trail," she said slowly. She looked around, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's gone."

* * *

There was a stunned silence.

"What?" Boone asked, frantically looking around as if he could pick up the trail when Kate could not.

"No, no, no it can't be gone," Scarlett said. "Isn't there _anything_?"

"No," Kate said, biting her lip. "There's nothing."

She was still searching, but Scarlett noticed that there were no longer any footprints, and the dense foliage in front of them was unbroken.

"Well we gotta find her," Sawyer said vehemently. "Are you telling me that there's no way we're gonna find this chick?"

"Maybe they doubled back…" Kate said weakly, but everyone could tell that it was a very small chance that they had by the sound of her voice.

"We should look for trails branching off of this one," Scarlett said.

"I did," Kate replied. She put her hand to her forehead and took in a few deep breaths, obviously thinking. "I don't think that they would have doubled back. We were too close on their trail. I looked…" she trailed off and sighed. For a moment she just stood there. Then, she growled with frustration and then screamed. "Dammit!"

"Hey, hey, Freckles, calm down," Sawyer said gently. "Don't worry. We're gonna find her."

"How, Sawyer?" Kate asked contemptuously. "There's no trail! How are we supposed to find her?"

"Even if we don't find her today…then we can find her another time," Sawyer replied, trying to comfort her. "We ain't just gonna give up."

Despite Sawyer's words, Scarlett had a feeling that 'giving up' was exactly what they were going to have to do.

* * *

After a few minutes of discussion, it was decided unanimously that there was no point in following a trail that didn't exist, since Claire and her abductor clearly did _not_ go that way, and they all decided to head back.

They were silent and moody as they started walking back. Everyone was thinking of Claire and where she may be, though none of them really _wanted _to think of all the possibilities. Who would?

Suddenly, there was a huge clap of thunder, and the rain began to pour down without warning. Everyone jumped with surprise at the sound, and huddled closer together.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Sawyer yelled.

"Come on," Kate said. "Here. Let's rest for a little bit."

They managed to weave their way through a bunch of trees that were tightly entwined. The trunks were thin and spider-like, and together they formed a sort of cave. Though some water dripped through the heavy foliage above them, they were mostly safe from the rain.

Scarlett found herself pressed up against Kate on one side, and Boone on the other. Sawyer sat next to Kate on the other side.

"How long do you think the rain's going to last?" Boone asked, peering out into the downpour. Another clap of thunder caused them all to jump and grab at each other with fright. Scarlett grabbed Kate's arm, and Boone likewise grabbed Scarlett's. Kate put her hand on Sawyer's knee. He didn't say anything about it, but he grinned slightly.

"I don't know," Kate said quietly in reply to Boone's question. "Could be a while."

"Great," Sawyer groaned. "That's just great."

Scarlett sighed and put her head back against the knot of tangled vines behind her. Kate and Boone did the same.

"So we just stay here until it's over?" Scarlett asked, breathing heavily.

"I think that would be a good idea," Kate said, sounding a little breathless as well.

"Yeah," Boone replied. "These storms don't tend to last too long anyway.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, shivering in the cold. Kate wrapped her arm around Scarlett's shoulders, and Scarlett did the same. They huddled close together, drawing warmth from each other's bodies. A few minutes later, Boone pressed up closer against Scarlett, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, while hers went around his waist. Kate smiled at Scarlett, and she smiled weakly back, without much feeling.

Sawyer laughed humorlessly.

"The three of you look like…" he began, but he never got to finish. There was a crashing noise; a clap of thunder, maybe…but maybe something else.

"What was that?" Kate asked, jumping to her feet and peering around the trunks. Scarlett jumped up as well and helped Boone up, clutching his hand.

"Did that sound like…?" Boone began, but suddenly it came again, and this time it was clear that it wasn't thunder.

"Oh my God," Kate whispered. "Run! We have to run!"

"No," Sawyer said quickly. "Stay here and stay low. Maybe it doesn't know we're here."

Sawyer's theory was proved incorrect when suddenly there was a huge thud against the trees. Everyone fell to the ground in a messy heap as that thing struck the trees again and again. All four of them cowered in the corner farthest from it like frightened children. Without even realizing it, Boone had wrapped his arms around Scarlett, and was shielding her from whatever it might be. Sawyer had placed himself firmly in front of Kate, and was staring into the rain and trying to see the thing.

Again it struck the trees, and Kate screamed. A metallic clanking noise broke through the thuds and the screaming. Another thud, and both women screamed. Scarlett hid her face in Boone's embrace and grabbed at the front of his shirt. His arms tightened around her, and he pushed them further back into the little cave of trees.

Another thud. This one was accompanied by a cracking noise. The trees were splitting. Kate had had enough. She jumped up and ran out in the opposite direction from where the thing was. Sawyer dashed after her. Scarlett and Boone stared out into the rain with shocked expressions.

"Stay here," Boone said, as Scarlett prepared to stand up. "No, stay here."

Scarlett was shaking badly, and he knew that she wouldn't make it far. He didn't like to think about her getting lost or even eaten by that thing, but the thoughts came anyway.

"What about that thing?" Scarlett asked. The thing slammed against the trees once again, and another crack; this one bigger. She looked at him with fear.

"It's not gonna get you," Boone said, looking her in the eyes. "I promise."

Scarlett threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He just held her and waited for the inevitable.

"It's gonna get in here, isn't it?" Scarlett asked tremulously.

"No," Boone said with determination. "It's not. It's not getting in here."

Scarlett gave him a look that clearly said that she didn't believe him.

"Don't do anything stupid," she said, and Boone couldn't help the small smile, though he tried to fight it down. How did she know him so well? "It's getting in."

Another thud, and an even bigger crack.

"If it does," Boone said slowly. "Run."

Scarlett looked at him frightfully.

"What about you?" she asked. Boone just bit his lip and stared at the trees, trying to see the thing outside. He couldn't see anything. "Maybe we should run now," she said warily. Suddenly, there was a huge roaring noise, and then the familiar stomping footsteps as it moved away.

"It's leaving," Boone said with a huge sigh of relief.

Then the world seemed to turn upside down as the thing slammed against the trees with more force than all the other times combined. The trees began to topple. Scarlett screamed and started running. Boone ran right behind her. Then she heard his strangled yell, just like she had heard him in her dreams. She skidded to a halt and fell to her hands and knees as she whirled around, slipping in the mud. The fallen trees were lying in a heap. The roaring and stomping seemed to be all around her, but she couldn't see that thing anywhere.

"Boone?" she yelled. "Boone!"

But there was no answer. The thing slowly moved away, leaving her alone in the rain, gasping and sobbing his name.

* * *

Kate and Sawyer made their way back to the trees.

"Are you sure they didn't leave with you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Sawyer replied. "For the thousandth time, Freckles, I…"

He broke off as Scarlett burst through the trees, looking frightened and distressed.

"Scarlett!" Kate exclaimed, running to her friend and throwing her arms around her. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Scarlett said. "But I can't find Boone."

"What?" Sawyer asked, his eyes widening with fear. "What happened?"

"I don't…I don't know," Scarlett sobbed. "It was…that thing…and…he told me to run, but he…he…yelled and I…" She broke off and looked at Kate with wide eyes. "What was that thing?"

"I don't know," Kate said breathlessly, looking past Scarlett to where she could see the tangled mess of trees and vines from where she was standing. "Come on."

The three of them ran towards the trees, shaking with terror.

"Boone?" Sawyer called out. "Hey, kid?"

"Boone?" Kate screamed. "Boone, where are you?"

"I'm here," Boone's voice said weakly from the other side of the heap of trees. He stumbled around it, looking out of breath and very dirty, but otherwise okay. Scarlett ran to him and flung her arms around his neck.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I'm okay," Boone replied, hugging her back. "You?"

"I'm fine," Scarlett said. Kate stepped forward, looking him in the eye seriously. Scarlett let go of him, but remained by his side.

"Did you see it?" she asked. Boone shook his head slowly, biting his lip.

"No," he said. "I was running, and then I fell, and the trees all sort of fell on top of me…and that thing was right there, but it kept running. I thought…I thought it got Scarlett, but then I heard her yelling. I tried to yell back, but I was kind of out of it. The thing…it ran the other way."

"Yeah," Kate said. "We heard."

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "It could have gotten me, but it just left."

"Guess it wasn't hungry," Sawyer replied, grinning. Scarlett shoved him slightly, only smiling a little bit. Though the danger was gone, at least for the moment, there was still the problem of Claire's disappearance to deal with. Would they find her? Would she be all right? No one knew, but they all knew that there was something more than just a little frightening on the island; and none of them really wanted to find out exactly what it was. But if it would help find Claire; then any one of them would have done it in a heartbeat.

"Let's go back," Kate said. Scarlett nodded and glanced at Boone again, her shaking slow in subsiding. Boone noticed the shaking.

"Hey," he said. "Don't worry. It's okay. It's gone."

"You could have _died_, Boone," Scarlett said, eyes filling with tears despite the fact that she tried hard not to let them come. "My God…you could have died!"

Boone smiled at her sadly and hugged her. Kate, up ahead a little ways, was looking at a cut on Sawyer's forehead.

"Hey," Boone said. "I didn't. I'm okay, and so are you. You could have died too, you know. Think about how _that _would have made _me _feel."

Scarlett smiled at him sadly.

"About as bad as it would have made me feel?" she asked. He nodded and smiled.

"I think somewhere around there, yeah," he replied. Scarlett finally pulled out of his embrace, and they continued walking. Kate and Sawyer fell into step beside them, and the four of them continued back to camp in low spirits.

* * *

When they got back, Jack was waiting for them.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No," Kate said. "The trail just…ended. It didn't fade away or anything. It just ended."

Jack didn't say anything, but Scarlett had a feeling that if he were going to say anything, then it would probably be something smug and cocky. She didn't wait to hear it. She just stormed back to her things angrily and sat down.

"Hey, Sox, you all right?"

Scarlett sighed and turned around to face Sawyer.

"No," she said simply. He shook his head.

"Stupid question," he said. "Don't worry, Sox, we'll find your friend."

"It's not looking like that's gonna happen any time soon," Scarlett replied bitterly.

"Maybe not anytime soon, but eventually something's gonna happen. I'm tellin' you. One of these days she's just gonna up and walk out of the woods like nothing happened."

"As comforting as that image is, I doubt it," Scarlett replied.

"You never know," Sawyer replied. "This island's a freaky piece of work, darlin'. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she just showed up one day, actin' like she hadn't been gone for any time at all."

"Thanks, Sawyer," Scarlett said, smiling for Sawyer's benefit, but for no other reason.

"You watch, darlin'. That's what's gonna happen."

Scarlett smiled at him as he walked off, but as soon as he was gone, her smile disappeared. She pulled a water bottle out of her bag and considered drinking it, but then just held it and stared at it as if she didn't really know how. After a few minutes, she felt someone come and sit beside her. She thought maybe it was Boone, but when she looked up, she was surprised to see Shannon sitting there, watching her with unconcealed sympathy.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," Scarlett returned, wondering what the woman wanted. Shannon shifted slightly and bit her lip.

"Um…I just wanted to see if you were okay, you know?"

An angry reply of 'no, I'm not okay' was just on the tip of Scarlett's tongue, but she didn't have the heart to say it. Instead, she shrugged.

"Thanks," she said. "Though…I don't know how I am right now, so I couldn't really tell you."

"How do you not know how you're feeling?" Shannon asked with a slightly playful smirk.

"Well, I'm upset about Claire missing…obviously. But, I'm glad that your brother's okay."

"My brother?" Shannon asked, brow furrowing. "What happened?"

Scarlett related the story quickly and without much detail. When she was finished, Shannon shook her head slowly. She was about to say something when Boone walked up, still muddy from their little excursion.

"Shan?" he said, surprised. She shot him an angry look, but then it softened.

"I heard about what happened in the woods," she said. "About the trees falling…"

"Oh, yeah," Boone said, shrugging. "Nothing too bad. Just a few scratches."

"Are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip again. "Maybe you should get Jack to check it out."

"Don't worry," Boone replied, grinning. "I'm gonna be all right, Shan."

"Okay," Shannon said, smiling sadly. "I'm glad you're okay, Boone. But next time, maybe you'll listen to me when I tell you not to go into the fucking jungle." She glared at him slightly. Scarlett stared at her; the abrupt change in moods not registering quickly enough in her shaken mind. Then, as if to confuse her even more, Shannon looked at her, sad. She smiled slightly. "Feel better, okay?" she said. Scarlett nodded.

"Thanks," she said. She reached out and hugged the other woman; admittedly slightly surprised when Shannon hugged back. Then Shannon stood and, with a final glare for Boone, walked off to the other side of the caves where she was sleeping.

"I swear to God, she's more bi-polar than my mother," Boone grumbled under his breath, shaking his head. He took a sip of water and sat down across from Scarlett.

"At least she was worried about you," Scarlett pointed out.

"Yeah," Boone said bitterly. "Shit, that reminds me. I have to go down to the beach to talk to Sawyer. I'll be back in a little while, okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said softly.

"You gonna be okay?" Boone asked. Scarlett laughed.

"I think I can survive for a few moments without you here," she said. When Boone looked slightly hurt, she smiled at him gently. "Not much longer than a few moments, but I think I'll be okay."

Boone smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder before walking off. Scarlett just sat there, staring at nothing for a few minutes before she stood up and walked over to where Charlie was sitting alone by his fire.

She sat down next to him. For a few minutes, they just sat there, with him staring into the fire with dark, haunted eyes and her watching the flames, wondering what the hell he was trying to find in there. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly companionable either. Charlie seemed as if he hadn't even noticed that she was there. At last, Scarlett decided that the silence had to be broken.

"You know," she said slowly. "She's gonna be okay."

Slowly, Charlie's head turned towards her, and he looked at her with a blank expression on his face. There was a long silence; similar to the one they had just sat in. They just stared at each other. Then, Charlie took a breath and spoke.

"How do you know that?" he asked slowly.

"Because I can feel it," she replied. "She's gonna be okay. Nothing's gonna happen to her."

"You feel it?" Charlie asked. "I wish you could have bloody well felt it _before _she got taken."

Scarlett sighed and shook her head.

"She's gonna be okay, Charlie," she said, though she wasn't sure that she believe that herself. "She's gonna be all right."

Charlie was silent, and Scarlett knew that he was once again lost in his own thoughts. She watched him, saddened, and then stood up. Without saying anything, she stood up and walked off towards the path to the beach.

Behind her, Charlie looked up at her briefly, watching her with eyes wide and tear-filled. Then, his head dropped and he resumed his routine inspection of the fire in front of him.

* * *

_Anthony and Scarlett stood in the living room in their house, listening to their mother's sobs in the other room. _

_"What should we do?" Scarlett asked, biting her lip. _

_"I don't know," Anthony replied. "It's never been this bad."_

_As if to prove his point, the sob turned into a scream of grief, and a glass shattered against the wall. Both Anthony and Scarlett flinched, and Scarlett was overcome with tears of her own. _

_"Why did she love him so much?" she asked mournfully. "He was an asshole!"_

_"She didn't pick the right man," Anthony said sadly. "She never picked the right men. Don't try to answer why she picked the ones she did. It's not her fault."_

_"I know it's not her fault," Scarlett replied. "It's his fault."_

_"For leaving her?" he asked. "For…killing himself?"_

_Scarlett felt a flush of red spread on her cheeks. _

_"No," she mumbled. "For treating her the way that he did. I'm _glad _he killed himself."_

_Anthony looked down at her with a sad smile. _

_"Yeah," he said, pulling her into a hug. "Me too. I'm glad too."_

_She looked at him and wiped the tears out of her eyes. _

_"I love you, Anthony," she said seriously. "I'm glad that I have you here to help me."_

_"I love you too," Anthony replied with a smile. "And I'm glad that _you're_ here to help _me_."_

_He hugged her, and they stood there together in the living room, listening to the shrieks in the other room die away to sobs once again.

* * *

_

Scarlett didn't really know where she was going. She just wandered down to the beach listlessly, watching everyone go about their daily business as if nothing had happened. As if Claire hadn't just been kidnapped. It seemed ironic that people seemed completely oblivious to it. She didn't know why it was ironic, but she just thought it was.

Boone was no where to be seen, but it didn't really matter, since she wasn't necessarily looking for him anyway. She just wanted some peace, and the caves weren't offering that at the moment.

She sat down near the water, looking out at the waves. She had been doing that when she first met Claire on the island.

"Scarlett, is it?"

Scarlett turned around and faced the woman who had spoken. It was Rose. She hadn't really talked her at all during their stay on the island. In fact, she thought that the only time she had ever even spoken _around _her was on the second day when she and that group of people had gathered around each other to discuss the thing in the woods.

"Yeah," she said slowly. Rose sat down painfully.

"I heard about your friend, Claire," she remarked. Scarlett sighed.

"Yeah," she said again, seeing as how there seemed nothing else to say.

"I'm sorry she's missing," Rose continued. "But I'm sure she's going to be all right."

Scarlett glanced at her, smiling slightly.

"Thanks," she said. "I hope so too."

"Do you have faith that she's going to be okay?" Rose asked, and when Scarlett looked at her, she saw that the other woman was staring at her intently.

"I…" Scarlett stuttered. "I…I don't know."

Rose nodded and looked out to the ocean serenely, fingering a ring that she wore around her neck on a chain. She was silent for so long a moment that Scarlett was beginning to wonder if it would be rude if she just got up and left. But then, Rose spoke.

"My husband was in the bathroom," she said. Scarlett looked at her questioningly. "When the plane went down, he was in the bathroom. Near the back of the plane."

"Oh," Scarlett said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Rose looked at her with an amused smile. "Don't be. My husband isn't dead."

"What?" Scarlett asked.

"He's alive," Rose continued. "I can feel it."

Scarlett smiled slightly.

"I wish I could feel the same thing about Claire," she said, though she thought that she had felt it, back in the forest. After seeing Charlie's hopelessness, her feelings seemed a little less than realistic.

"Who says you can't?" Rose replied. "Claire's going to be all right."

"But how do you _know_?" Scarlett asked. Rose looked at her seriously.

"You're a nice girl Scarlett, and God doesn't repay your kind of character with sorrow for long. It may seem like it, but eventually…God's going to make your life better. I believed He started when He put you on this island."

Rose looked around as if determining all the good things that could happen to Scarlett right there on the beach.

"But what good has happened to me on the island?" Scarlett asked, though she knew that one thing would have to be the death of Anthony.

"You've met some wonderful people who really care about you," Rose replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Like Claire."

"But Claire's gone," Scarlett responded morosely.

"She'll be back," Rose said confidently. "If you pray for it."

Scarlett sighed and looked down at the sand.

"I do," she replied softly. "I have been."

"I know," Rose replied. "And God will answer them in one way or another."

Scarlett nodded sadly. Her mother had always been a religious person, and she had wanted her daughter to be the same. Though Scarlett hadn't developed the total faith in God as her mother had, she was still a believer. And Rose didn't need to tell her that God would do what he would. She knew that all too well.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"And don't worry, Scarlett," Rose said, standing up with some difficulty. "Have faith. It will be okay."

She walked off down the beach, leaving Scarlett sitting by herself and looking out at the ocean with tears filling her eyes. _It will be okay…_Those were words that everyone had been saying to her, and that she had been saying to Charlie, since Claire first went missing, but for some reason Rose's voice was the one that she believed. It _would _be all right. It would.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **

_(Scarlett stands with Locke in the woods)_

**Locke: **Some things on this island, Scarlett, you just can't explain…but I think with this hatch, we might be a little closer to explaining some of it.

_(He walks off, and Scarlett watches him go, looking concerned. Cut to Boone sitting in Sawyer's tent, reading Shannon's diary. He hands it to Sawyer.)_

**Sawyer: **I like how you think, Metro. You think I could hint that I have it.

**Boone: **Sure. I should go back to the caves. I don't want Scarlett to be alone.

**Sawyer: **Yeah…so what's the deal with you two?

**Boone: **Friends.

**Sawyer: **Kid, don't go letting your sister get in the way of something that you might wanna do. I know you think you love her, but she really just ain't gonna cut it. You're gonna have to raise your standards a little bit.)

_(He smirks.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway  
**


	38. Whatever The Case May Be Part 3

I've decided to break the rule….just 'cus I'm not in a good mood and I feel rebellious. :)

Rants? Ummm…I saw Red Eye the other day! That was a good movie, hahaha. Yeah, that's really all that's going on in my otherwise boring life. School starts in a few days…ahhhhhh, I don't wanna go back! I have to watch my best friend/crush make out with his new slutty girlfriend! Ewwwwwww! Hahaha.

Thanks for reviewing you guys! You made my day…s! hahahaa.

**Winged Seraph: **Hahaha, Scarlett will indeed 'do it' on the island. I promise I won't actually write it though. I'll just…imply things, hahaha. I've got it alllll figured out ;)  
Yeah, I decided that even if there was a rule, it's a dumb one, and I'm not following it! (hehe, oooo, I'm a rebel!)  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Yup! Creepy dreams, while creepy, can be VERY useful! They're also going to give hints about what's coming in the story in later chapters, though the hints are going to be really subtle, hahaha.  
Sawyer gets nicer and nicer in this fic. Coming up soon he's at his absolute nicest when he helps Boone out with something. It was cute to write, haha.  
I loved Rose too, when she helped out Charlie. She's going to be in it quite a bit, I think, to give Scarlett advice and such. I really think Rose's husband is alive too! As soon as Ana-Lucia sat down next to Jack in the flashback and told him she was in the back of the plane, I was like 'the tail people survived. I know they did!' and as soon as I thought _that_, I was like 'ahhh, Bernard!' hahaha.  
I tried to make Anthony and Stephen really complex and different, because they're not total assholes, and can be quite nice, but they've each got their reasons, however unjustified, for acting like they do towards Scarlett. Stephen, as you know, feels guilt for his accident, but Anthony's motives will be revealed later :D. But the fact that they were both nice at one point makes it harder for her to move on, and it probably confuses her a hell of a lot.  
I'm a hopeless romantic too! That's pretty much why I write stories like this. Characters as intriguing as Sawyer and Boone don't deserve the lack of attention they get, haha. I'm just glad that Ana-Lucia's coming back. Maybe she'll take Jack and leave Kate for Sawyer! Hehe, that's my hope anyway.  
The trail is gone :( I thought it that part was needed to show that they _did _go out and look for Claire, and they followed the trail from where Charlie was hung, because they never went into that in the actual show. They just said that there was no sign.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **The good old times are back! At least…for now, hahaha. I'm glad I could make you happy, and I hope that after two chapters of not being able to respond, I still have the talent! Hahaha. I'm also glad that you like the story! That's really the whole point, ahahhaa, to have the fans like what they're reading!  
Thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **I try to keep the relationships moving slowly, because I hate in fanfictions when it happens all at once. Though with Scarlett and Claire I think I may have moved a little too fast, but my excuse is that they were alone on an island, and they sort of knew each other, but didn't know anyone else, hahaha. Thanks for the review and the compliments! You make me happy! Hahaha :)

**Saraiyu: **I love Rose too! I couldn't _not _include her in my story, especially since she's sooo good at giving advice. Yeah, Scarlett _is _starting to get over Stephen, which is definitely a good thing. And I'm not saying a word about Anthony :) Hehe, thanks for the review!

**Brenenna: **Hehe, yay, new reviewerrrr! Scarlett's past is starting to get clearer. Coming up you'll get the _big _thing; Stephen's accident, which will tell you _why _Anthony hates her and why Stephen is so messed up. Thanks for taking the time to review! It means a lot :)

**WhatsGoingOn: **Hahaha, they hug a loottt coming up. Scarlett's a hugger like me! Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Hahaha, the rainy jungle scene was most definitely ominous. It ended up being a good thing for Scrooners! Hahahaha. Yeah, Scarlett's finally getting over Stephen, which is definitely a good thing! I love Rose too, she's so nice! I wish I had a Rose! Hahahaha.

**Dark Syrinx: **Uggghhhh, school! I'm going to CRY when I have to go back, haha.  
Anthony…well, we'll see, won't we:)  
Eek! Ethan! Whoa, I am _not _going to be watching that show! I'll avoid it completely, hahaha.  
I saw a lost clip! It was really freaky and cool!  
Yeah, I've always thought that thing sounded mechanical too! Hahaha, I think you might be on to something with the little green men thing. It would make soo much sense…..hahaha, I love it!  
Haha, that thing about Claire walking our of the woods seemed like something that he would say, and it's kinda ironic that it's true.  
Yeah, I wanted to show two sides of Shannon…I mean, it's very clear that she's a total bitch all around, but I figure there's gotta be at least part of her that's nice. In the show, she never really had a female character that she made friends with, and when she did talk to the other girls, like Claire, she was kind of nice. So I figured that since Scarlett's so nice to her, then she would be nice to Scarlett in return. At least for the time being O:)  
Hahaha, yeah, she's a little bi-polar, especially when it comes to Boone.  
That part with Rose talking to Charlie is wicked sad! It makes me cry too!  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Whatever the Case May Be (3): **

Scarlett headed back to the caves some time later. On the way, she met up with Locke.

"Just the person I was looking for," he remarked, turning and walking with her towards the caves. "I went to the hatch today."

Scarlett didn't want to tell him that she had completely forgotten about the hatch…but she had.

"Oh?" she said. "Did you find a way in?"

"No," Locke laughed. "But Boone and I are going tomorrow. Will you be coming along?"

"I guess," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "Why not?"

"Okay, good," Locke said with a friendly smile. There was a short silence.

"Um…Mr. Locke?" Scarlett said to break it.

"John, please," Locke replied.

"Okay. John…what do you think is in there?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Locke said seriously. "But whatever it was…Claire's abductors were moving in that direction."

"But for the last…I don't know, half-mile or so, you were just following your gut; no trail at all. How do you know that they went that way?"

"I feel it," Locke replied mysteriously, almost exactly as Rose had said the same words only an hour before. "Some things on this island, Scarlett, you just can't explain."

"Yeah," Scarlett said bitterly. There were too many things on the island that were completely unexplainable for her to be comfortable with it.

"But I think with this hatch, we might be a little closer to explaining some of it," John continued. "Now, I have to go down to the beach. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye John," Scarlett said, waving goodbye to him. He walked off towards the beach, and Scarlett once again headed towards the caves.

* * *

It was nearly dark by the time she got there, and neither Kate nor Boone was anywhere in sight. Charlie was still sitting by the fire, and Scarlett had a feeling that he just wanted to be left alone, so she walked up to Sayid, who was getting water.

"Hey," she said. He smiled at her sadly.

"Hello," he said. "How are you?"

"Okay," Scarlett lied. "How's your leg?"

"Better," Sayid said, smiling again. There was a short silence.

"How'd you hurt it?" Scarlett asked to break it. Sayid paused as if thinking.

"Well," he said. "The French woman, Danielle, set a trap, and I was caught in it. My foot was caught in a rope, and I was hanging upside down, and my leg hit a branch that was sticking out from a tree."

Scarlett winced.

"Ouch," she said. "Is it okay, now?"

"It will be better eventually," Sayid said with a small smile. "What about your ankle? I remember that you had an injury a while back…"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a smile. "Boar-induced sprain." Sayid laughed. "It's better."

"That's good," Sayid said. He screwed the top on his water bottle. "It was nice talking to you again, Scarlett."

"It was great talking to you too," she replied, smiling sadly. He smiled as well and bowed his head before walking off back towards the beach.

* * *

At the beach, Boone was still in Sawyer's tent, reading the diary that he had somehow acquired. Sawyer was smoking, watching Boone as he read steadily.

"You know," he remarked. "You can take that back to the caves with you."

"If she knew I had it, she'd kill me," Boone said, shaking his head, not looking up from the book. "I'm almost done."

The mournful quality to his voice led Sawyer to believe that he had reached the part where Shannon let it all out and said that she didn't love Boone. He just lit up another smoke and waited for the kid to be done.

"Go for it, kid," he said.

Boone read out loud, under his breath. He expected to be angry. Shannon was saying so many things that should piss him off…but what he was really feeling was a painful lack of hope. She didn't love him. At all. In fact, she pretty much wished that he'd drop dead.

"I wish he'd just go away," the diary read. "He needs to stop acting like a pathetic puppy dog. He needs to start acting like a man. No woman is _ever _going to want him the way he is."

The last line of her diary. Just like that. So she hated him? Is that what it was saying? That part about the puppy dog…now _that _was ironic.

"Did you read all this?" he asked Sawyer, holding up the journal. Sawyer shrugged.

"Nah," he said. "Just that part about Sydney."

Boone nodded and held out the diary again.

"You can have it," he said.

"Why would I want it?" Sawyer asked.

"I don't know, to trade her for something if she finds out you have it."

Sawyer smirked and took the diary.

"I like how you think, Metro," he said. "Think you could hint that I have it?"

"Sure," Boone said, picking up his water. "I should go back to the caves. I don't want Scarlett to be alone."

"Yeah," Sawyer said, grinning. "So what's the deal with you two?"

"Friends," Boone responded automatically. Sawyer gave him a look.

"Kid, don't go letting your sister get in the way of something that you might wanna do. I know you think you love her, but she really just ain't gonna cut it. You're gonna have to raise your standards a little bit."

Boone's eyes flashed defensively, but then he realized that what Sawyer was saying was right. Shannon _wasn't _going to cut it. She was a bitch to him and to everyone else.

Then why did he still love her?

* * *

Sawyer sat in his shelter long after Boone left, looking at the diary in his hands. He hoped that his little plan worked. He had never really been much of a matchmaker, but he was doing his best for Scarlett. He liked Boone and all, but it was really for Scarlett that he was doing it.

At first, he had thought that there was something there between the two of them. He wasn't really sure exactly when it changed, but it was even before the incident with the inhalers that he started looking at Kate far more than he was looking at Scarlett. Scarlett was, well, nice. She was the kind of girl who asked questions first and acted later. She thought before she spoke. She put others ahead of herself without a second thought. Sawyer and Kate, however, were different. They were opposite of that. Though the old saying was that 'opposites attract', Sawyer had a feeling that in this case, the opposite was true. He and Scarlett would have never gotten together for long. He was too stubborn and she was too giving. He would have unintentionally walked all over her and made her absolutely miserable. He might be able to do that to the women he conned without a second thought, but Scarlett was definitely _not _one of those women. He didn't know why…but she just wasn't. Scarlett cared about _him _and not just herself. He honestly didn't think any of the women who told him that they 'loved' him were like that. Scarlett just wasn't his type.

But, whatever. Scarlett was a great friend and a great woman, and she made him want to be better. That was all there was to it. Maybe a little tiny bit of jealousy, but Boone was a good kid, and it wasn't like Sawyer didn't have any other options open. He grinned to himself. There was always Kate, and it wasn't like that was a bad thing.

He sighed and tossed the diary into a corner. He felt a lot better about himself, after letting the kid read it. Though he was a little weirded out about the whole thing when he first found out, he felt a little bad. Poor kid was loving a wall. A wall made out of one hundred percent bitch.

He chuckled at the thought and pulled out the two passports. Then he tossed those into the corner too. Maybe he could get a little something extra from the bitch for them. They might come in handy if rescue ever showed up.

Rolling onto his side and trying to make himself comfortable, Sawyer closed his eyes and fell into a deep, unusually guiltless sleep.

* * *

Scarlett was trying to sleep when Boone made it back to the caves. She could tell that something was wrong by the way he was walking; all hunched over and shuffling.

"Hey," she said sleepily. He looked over at her with surprise.

"Oh, hey," he said. "I didn't think you'd still be awake."

"Yeah, like I'm going to be sleeping," Scarlett retorted with a humorless smirk. Boone repeated the expression and sat down at his blankets.

"Yeah," he said. "Me neither."

They were silent for a moment. Boone stared into a fire nearby. Scarlett stared at Boone.

"What's wrong?" she asked finally. He glanced at her and shrugged.

"What _isn't _wrong?" he asked. Scarlett remembered fondly when Kate had said the same thing to her on the second day, when they were going to try and send out a distress signal. Was that before, or after Sawyer shot the polar bear? She couldn't remember. It felt like forever ago.

"We're alive," she responded, exactly as she had in that time before.

"Well, yeah," he said, shrugging. "That's just about it."

Scarlett sat up and faced him.

"Don't start getting depressed, now," she said easily. "If you stop smiling, I don't know what I'll do."

Boone looked at her and gave a small, half-hearted smile. She could tell that he was only doing it for her benefit. She sighed and thought for a moment, tapping her fingers on the stone of the caves rhythmically.

"What's gotten into you?" Boone asked after a while. "When I left, you were so depressed."

"I talked to that lady Rose. You know her?"

"Yeah," Boone said, cringing slightly. Scarlett tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"What?" she asked, noticing. Boone shook his head.

"When we first crashed, I was giving her CPR," he said. "And I kept trying, but I just couldn't get her to _breathe_. Then Jack came over, told me I was doing it wrong, and saved her." Here, he laughed bitterly. "Just another perfect example of how I live my whole life overshadowed by people who are just _better _than me."

Scarlett looked at him sadly.

"If it helps at all, I think that you're better than Jack at pretty much everything."

"Not saving people, apparently," Boone said, shaking his head. "I can't even save myself!"

"So then leaving the saving people to Jack and focus on being the sweetest guy ever," Scarlett said, smiling sadly. Boone looked like he didn't want to smile, but he couldn't help it. He smiled back.

"Thanks," he said, and he sounded like he meant it. "But what about Rose?"

Scarlett gave him a look that clearly said that they weren't done discussing it yet. Then, she smiled.

"Well," she said. "I was talking to Rose, and she was talking faith and stuff…and she just made me feel a lot better about Claire and everything. I really think Claire's going to be okay, now."

"Why?" Boone asked. "Just because of what Rose said?"

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I can…sort of feel it, I guess."

Boone looked at her for a long while, then he shrugged and looked back at the fire.

"Good," he said, finally. "I mean…I'm glad you've got faith in…this."

Scarlett could tell that he was trying his best to stay focused on the conversation, but it was clear that his mind was wandering elsewhere.

"Hey," she said. He looked at her with surprise. "What's wrong? You never answered that. And I don't want to hear 'everything'. What's specifically wrong, right now?"

"Well, Claire," Boone said. "Other stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Scarlett asked. She knew she was prying, but she wanted to know what was bothering him. She wanted to be able to help him, and she couldn't find the solution if she didn't know the problem.

"I don't even know anymore," Boone said sadly. "It's just…everything."

He looked at her with an almost pathetic sadness, and Scarlett felt her heart melt as she looked at him. She wanted nothing more than to just make him happy. She wanted to take care of him. She wanted him to take care of her. She just wished that she knew where to start.

Scarlett had been in three relationships her whole life. Three. The first had been when she was nine, and had insisted that Joey Lancer was her boyfriend. The two of them had gone with Joey's parents to see a PG rated movie, and had held hands. Then he moved away to Tennessee, and Scarlett claimed that her heart was broken.

The second started when she was ten years old, when she met Stephen Martin at one of her mother's parties. Though they hadn't really been officially dating until she was fourteen, she still counted ten as the starting point. That relationship had lasted until she was twenty. (Though, if she really thought about it, the relationship had never really ended.) He was the first and the only man who she had ever truly loved.

The third man was Kevin Webberson. She had met him in Australia when they were both drunk and depressed. Scarlett decided that she could use another relationship, and the two of them started 'dating'. Their dates usually included going out to eat, and then back to his place until morning. Scarlett didn't mind. It felt good to have something nice and casual. Then, Kevin had broken it off, claiming that she didn't 'care about his feelings.' That had been almost a week before Anthony found her. A week before they got onto the plane.

Out of those three relationships, there was not one where she was truly happy. There was not one when her significant other came to her for help when he needed to talk about something. There was not one who admitted to her that he wasn't perfect. All three, even nine-year-old Joey Lancer, had tried to act big and mighty and tough. Scarlett didn't want that anymore. She wanted someone kind and gentle and compassionate. Someone like Boone.

"Boone," she said gently, reaching out her hand and putting it on his arm. "If you want to talk about it…I'm here."

"Thanks," Boone said after a short pause. "I think we should go to bed now. It's late."

Scarlett smiled slightly and nodded.

"Goodnight, Boone," she said, lying down.

"Night, Scarlett," Boone replied, settling down as well. Scarlett turned the other way and closed her eyes, listening to the chirping of the insects and the distant cries of some animals. Sometime later, she gently slid into sleep.

* * *

_"Help me!"_

_Scarlett's eyes flew open and she sat up. She was at the caves, in her sleeping spot. Boone was lying next to her, but he was lying flat on his back, with his arms at his sides. She frowned and slowly leaned over. His eyes slowly opened, and he stared at her. His eyes looked frightened and panicked, but his expression remained completely calm. _

_"Boone?" Scarlett said, biting her lip with fear. "Are you okay?"_

_He didn't move. He just stared at her with those wide, scared eyes. She bit her lip and looked around for Jack. She tried to stay calm, but the rising panic was threatening to overtake her. _

_"Hey, Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett turned to face the other direction and saw Carol standing there, confusion written on her face. _

_"Carol!" Scarlett exclaimed, jumping up. "What are you…?"_

_"Sox!"_

_Scarlett whirled around and saw Sawyer running out of the woods behind her. _

_"Sawyer!" she exclaimed. "Boone! There's something wrong with him!"_

_Sawyer looked down at Boone with concern. _

_"Aw, damn," he muttered. "Umm…you, what's your name?"_

_Carol looked at him with surprise. _

_"Me? Um…Carol…"_

_"Okay…Carol. I need you to…wait…" Sawyer stopped and stared at her for a moment. I haven't seen you around here before."_

_He stepped forward threateningly. _

_"Sawyer!" Scarlett exclaimed. "Carol's my friend."_

_"Okay," Sawyer said reluctantly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's gonna be okay."_

_"What's wrong with him?" Scarlett asked. _

_"I don't know!" Sawyer exclaimed. "I'm not a damn doctor!"_

_"Scarlett, what's going on. I don't understand…"_

_Scarlett turned to Carol, tilting her head to one side._

_"What don't you understand?" she asked. _

_"You…and those two guys…why do I keep dreaming about them?"_

_"What?" Scarlett asked. "Dreaming? You dream about us?"_

_"Yeah," Carol said. "I…I don't know why I do…but…"_

_She shook her head, trembling slightly. Scarlett realized that she was crying. _

_"Scarlett!"_

_Scarlett was getting confused as well, with all the yelling. She turned and saw that Sawyer was kneeling by Boone, who was sitting up, taking huge, gasping breaths. _

_"Boone!" Scarlett exclaimed. "What's wrong? Boone…" _

_Suddenly, a huge roar cut through the still air. Scarlett and Sawyer froze. Carol screamed. _

_"Shit," Sawyer muttered. Scarlett wrapped her arm around Boone's waist and pulled him up. Sawyer took the other side. _

_"Leave me," Boone gasped out. "I won't make it."_

_"Like Hell, we're leaving you," Sawyer growled. _

_"Carol, run!" Scarlett yelled. The three of them broke into a run, Scarlett and Sawyer dragging Boone with them._

_"We're lucky the kid is light," Sawyer yelled furiously. They dove into one of the deeper caves, and they all huddled together in the back corner. _

_"Scarlett?" Carol said shakily. "Where am I?"_

_Sawyer snorted._

_"If only any of us knew the answer to _that _question," he laughed. _

_Boone was shivering. Scarlett wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her. _

_"What the hell is wrong with him?" she asked, as he clung to her like a small child._

_"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" Sawyer retorted angrily. "Where the hell is Jack? That's what _I _want to know!"_

_The roaring continued outside. Scarlett settled back against the rock, tightening her hold on Boone. _

_"Boone?" she said gently. "Boone? Hey, Boone? Are you okay?"_

_"Every night," Carol said hysterically. "Every fucking night I dream of you, Scarlett. I dream of you guys and a blonde pregnant woman and a doctor who's an asshole…" Sawyer smirked at that one. "Why the hell am I dreaming of you every night? Why you? Why…"_

_"I dream of you, too," Boone said suddenly. Everyone looked at him, shocked._

_"Boone?" Scarlett said uncertainly, brushing the hair out of his face._

_"She was running through the woods and I helped her," Boone murmured sleepily. "She was lost. She was looking for you…"_

_He trailed off._

_"Yes!" Carol exclaimed._

_Scarlett was about to say something when the monster suddenly slammed against the cave entrance. She could only clutch Boone tighter, and glance at Carol one last time, before everything started to crumble around them.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a small gasp. Carol? She…

The dream faded, however, nearly as soon as it hit her, leaving only pieces of memory there. She remembered Boone being hurt, and she remembered the monster chasing her and Sawyer and Boone and Carol. She didn't remember the part that Carol said about the dreams, though that probably would have been most useful to remember.

She sighed and rolled over to the other side, surprised when she saw that Boone was sitting up, drinking some water.

"Hey," he said. "I didn't really want to wake you up, but John wants us to meet him over by the waterfall in ten minutes."

Scarlett looked around. Everyone else was sleeping, and it was still dark out. She glanced back at Boone, eyebrows raised.

"Why this early?" she asked. Boone stood up and held out a hand for Scarlett to grab, shrugging slightly.

"He says that he doesn't want anyone to know where we're going," he said as Scarlett gave him her hand, and he pulled her up.

"Why not?" Scarlett asked.

"I don't know," Boone said with a small smirk. "He's being so weird about this whole thing. I have no idea why he cares if other people know. Personally, I think that if we got more people to help, then it would be more good than not."

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. Then, she shrugged. "Who knows. John isn't exactly…normal."

Boone gave a little huff of a laugh at that one.

"No, he's not," he agreed. "At all."

Scarlett bent down and picked up her backpack. Everything was in there from the day before. She shouldered it and walked with Boone towards the waterfall, where Locke was waiting for them. Wordlessly giving them the signal to be quiet, he started off into the forest, and they followed him without hesitation.

* * *

The next three days were all the same. The three of them would head into the woods in the very early morning, and would end up at the hatch, where they would try all sorts of devices to open it. Nothing would work, of course, but Locke didn't want to give up. When it was starting to get dark, they would head back. Always, the last twenty minutes or so of their walks back to the caves were in complete darkness, and Scarlett would find an excuse to hold onto Boone's arm lightly. On the second day, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders in response to the gesture, and continued doing that every time they walked back in the dark.

At night, when Scarlett was sleeping, she was always haunted with those violent, frightening dreams. When she would wake, Boone was always awake too. She never thought to ask exactly why he was always awake when she was, nor why he was always tired and yawning throughout the day. If she had, then she would have found out that Boone was hardly sleeping, and that when he did, he had dreams that were nearly as frightening as her own. She would have heard him say that right after he woke up, he always looked over to check on her before sitting up and taking a long swig of his water, wishing that it was something a little stronger.

On the fourth day, Locke decided that it would be better if they moved back to the beach. Scarlett didn't have any objections to that one. It was really weird staying at the caves without Claire there. Boone agreed. Shannon came along, because she never wanted to be at the caves in the first place, and she wasn't going to stay if Boone was going.

The fifth day came, and Scarlett had a headache.

* * *

"I think I'm going to stay here today," she said to Boone. He looked at her uncertainly, biting his lip.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "You want me to stay too? I'll go tell John that…"

"No, no, it's okay," Scarlett said, smiling and taking another sip of water. "It'll be fine. I'll just rest today. It must be the stress or something."

Boone nodded. He knew that the absence of anything remotely relating to Claire being found was wearing on her, and he didn't blame her one bit. It was wearing on him too, though not nearly as much.

"Okay," he said, biting his lip again. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she said with a small smile. "You guys go ahead. I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow."

Boone nodded and they shared a hug before he walked off into the trees, where Locke would no doubt be waiting. Scarlett just laid her head back on her pillow and looked at the cloudless sky. After a few minutes of this, she pulled out her diary and began to write despite her headache.

* * *

_Today I woke up with the biggest headache ever. I swear to God, if I don't get off this island soon, I'm going to go crazy. Even with Boone here, it's like being in a little shoebox with people who constantly get on each others nerves. Cus everyone is on edge, thanks in part to what happened to Claire. Everyone thinks that they can't trust each other, and it's absolutely insane!_

_I just want to start swimming. Who knows, maybe I'd make it._

_I really, really miss Claire. I hope she's okay…

* * *

_

Scarlett put down the book with a heavy sigh and stood up. She looked around her and spotted her camera. Then, she saw her big, spiral notebook. She smiled as a figurative lightbulb went off in her head, and she picked up the notebook and a pen, and then hung her camera around her neck. Anything big that happened, she would take a picture and then put it on a page, along with a description. That way, when Claire came back, she could catch up on what had happened when she was gone. It was silly and childish, but she didn't care. It was something to keep her busy and hopeful at the same time.

She looked around for something happening that might be interesting. She spotted Shannon stalking over to Sawyer's tent, and she grinned. That could get good.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

_(Shannon stands in Sawyer's shelter, holding her diary.)_

**Shannon: **You didn't read it…

_(Sawyer smirks.)_

**Sawyer: **Well…I was only gonna read the last entry, like I did with everyone else's…but what I read in the last entry made me go back a little further.

_(He grins at her. Her mouth drops open.)_

**Shannon: **You _didn't_!

**Sawyer: **Now I see why your poor brother's always so depressed. I had no idea you were such a _bitch_.

_(She stares at him, looking somewhat hurt.)_

**Shannon: **Did you tell him?

_(Cut to Scarlett watching the tide rising fast, as everyone scrambles for suitcases. Eddie runs up.)_

**Eddie: **Hey, you need to get all your stuff and move up to the trees! Jack says that the whole fuselage is going to be underwater soon!

_(Scarlett looks back out at the waves with arched eyebrows, looking concerned. Cut to Scarlett and Stephanie.)_

**Stephanie: **Um…look, I just wanna know what's going on between you and Boone.

_(Scarlett's frown turns into a scowl, and her eyes narrow.)_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway**


	39. Whatever The Case May Be Part 4

Ummm…I have no time for life this morning, so authors notes are a no! I promise I'll update sooner next time, along with individual thanks and such! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

**Whatever the Case May Be (4): **Changes

Sawyer was reading "A Wrinkle in Time" when Shannon stormed into his shelter, looking like he had just hit her dog with a truck or something. He smiled as he put the book down slowly. So Boone had dropped the hint. He knew the kid would do his job. He made a mental note to thank him later.

"Where is it?" Shannon asked him venomously.

"And what might you be looking for, Sticks?" Sawyer asked, still smiling.

"What the hell do you think?" Shannon spat. "Boone said that you were talking about having my diary."

"Oh, that," Sawyer said, pretending to be surprised. He bent down and took it from behind his seat, where he had a plethora of diaries and other 'reading materials' tucked away. "This yours?"

Shannon reached out to grab it, but he pulled it back, smirking.

"Sawyer! You asshole, just give me the fucking diary, or I swear to God…"

"What?" Sawyer asked. "I didn't hear a please."

Shannon stared at him, mouth working with frustration.

"Look," she said. "What do you want for it?"

Sawyer thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"Hell," he said. "You got a flashlight, right? Cus mine's broken."

"A flashlight?" Shannon asked. "Are you kidding? That's all you want for it?"

"I don't need your damn journal anymore…" Sawyer said, putting a very subtle emphasis on 'anymore'. Shannon's eyes widened.

"You didn't read it," she said uncertainly.

"Well…" Sawyer drawled. "I was only gonna read the last entry, like I did with everyone else's, but what I read in the last entry made me go back a little further."

He flashed her a charming grin, and her jaw dropped open.

"You didn't," she hissed.

"Now I see why your poor brother's always so depressed. I had no idea you were such a bitch."

He emphasized the word, knowing that it would get to her. Judging by the expression on her face; it did.

"Did you tell him?" she asked, her eyes looking somewhat pained.

"I was thinking about it," Sawyer said casually. "Help him get over it, you know, and find someone else to follow around like a sick puppy dog. Though…what was it you said? No woman would ever want him the way he is?"

"You bastard," Shannon growled.

"Your words, Sticks," Sawyer said, holding out the book. "Not mine."

Shannon snatched the book and looked at him angrily.

"Don't tell him, okay?" she asked.

"Why?" Sawyer asked. "So you can go on, wrapping him around your finger and making him absolutely miserable? Damn, Sticks, let the poor boy live his life, won't you?"

Shannon stared at him angrily.

"You don't know anything," she sneered at him. "You don't know what this is about."

"You forget that I read that thing," Sawyer replied with a hearty laugh. "I do know what it's about."

Shannon glared at him.

"I'll be back with your flashlight," she spat. "If you promise not to tell him."

"Too late, Sticks," Sawyer said with a smirk. "I told him all about it last night. Now, about that flashlight…"

* * *

Shannon stormed out of Sawyer's tent, fuming angrily. Sawyer stood in the doorway to the shelter, smirking good-naturedly. Scarlett, out of earshot, smiled and took a picture. It developed, and she walked back to her stuff. While she was waiting, she had seen Steve and Tracy cuddling by the water, and she snapped a picture of that, too. So she had two pictures for her Claire Book. She smiled to herself and lied down on her stomach, closing her eyes and drifting off to a shockingly dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sometime later, Shannon sat at her place in the sand, reading her diary again. She wasn't sure if Sawyer had let Boone read it or not…but if he did, then she didn't want to think about what he might think about her. She had always been able to keep the upper hand with him, thanks to the fact that he was completely in love with her…but would she still have it after that? She wasn't too sure.

She threw it on the ground, fighting the urge to scream with frustration. She glanced around and saw Scarlett sleeping comfortably on a towel. She wondered if Scarlett knew anything...

Suddenly, Boone appeared. She looked up at him. He didn't even look at her as he bent down and took a drink of water. He was dirty and sweaty and gross.

"Where have you been?" she asked him sourly. Boone looked at her with surprise.

"What do you mean, where have I been?" he asked, frowning at her. He got some water on his hand and wet the back of his neck. Shannon glared at him.

"You and Locke and Scarlett have been leaving before sunrise and coming back after dark for the last four days. What are you doing out there?"

Boone shook his head very slightly and kneeled on the sand to get something out of his backpack.

"We're looking for Claire," he said. Shannon growled under her breath slightly. Boone ignored her and glanced at Scarlett, starting to stand up. Shannon felt the anger boiling inside of her.

"I thought there was no trail anymore," she said, to prevent him from leaving. He stayed where he was. "That no one even knew where to…"

She wasn't prepared for the explosion of contemptuous anger that would burst from Boone.

"Yeah," he said violently. "Well at least I'm doing something. Don't you see the way they look at us around here? They don't take us seriously!" He stood up and took his backpack. "We're a joke. I'm trying to contribute something, and you're just…you're useless!"

He turned and stalked away, leaving Shannon sitting in the sand, feeling like she had just been knocked to the ground and stepped on. What she didn't realize, in her selfish rage and hurt, was that she had done the same thing to Boone countless times, and that each time, he had felt the same feelings.

She didn't care. He called her useless. What a bastard.

She turned back to reading her magazine, scowling bitterly and trying to ignore his words.

* * *

Scarlett woke up an unknown amount of time later to see that there was something written on a piece of paper by her head. She sat up groggily and picked it up.

_Got you some motrin for the headache. John and I are heading back to the thing. Hope you feel better!_

_Boone_

Scarlett smiled, picked the two small while pills, and popped them into her mouth, downing them with a gulp of water. Suddenly, she heard people yelling. She glanced in the direction of the noise and saw that there were people running around, wading into the water to grab suitcases, which were floating out into the ocean. Scarlett noticed with some fear and a large amount of uneasiness that the water was definitely closer than it had been when she went to sleep.

She stood up and watched as Jack and Sayid yelled directions and helped haul the stuff up the beach, closer to the trees. Waves were lapping at the remainders of the fuselage, and Scarlett didn't want to imagine what the ocean would look like if they hadn't burned the bodies.

"What's going on?" she asked a man who ran past her. She couldn't remember his name at the moment. She hadn't spoken to him before. He was about to answer when Eddie ran up to her.

"Hey," he said. "You need to get all your stuff and move up to the trees. Jack says that the whole fuselage is gonna be underwater soon."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked. "What's with the random tide changes?"

"I don't know," Eddie said. "Some guy named Arts says that he's never seen anything like it. He thinks that there must have been an earthquake out at sea or something."

"Great," Scarlett said sarcastically, grinning. "Thanks, Eddie."

"No problem," he replied with a smile. "You need any help?"

Scarlett looked around at all her stuff and Boone's stuff.

"No," she said with a grin. "I'm okay. I'll manage."

"You sure?" Eddie asked. Scarlett nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll see you around."

He walked off, and so did the man who Scarlett had stopped before. Scarlett picked up one of her bigger bags, and Boone's small green shoulder bag that he had left behind, surprisingly. He always took that thing wherever he went.

She took another one of her bags and managed to haul the stuff over to an area further up the beach. No one was going up towards the trees yet, so she figured she'd wait for Boone to get back before she moved all his stuff that far. She'd just save it from getting washed out to sea.

She dropped it down and then went back to the other stuff, grabbing one of her smaller bags, and Boone's biggest. She moved back and forth between the two piles steadily, until it was nearly sunset, and Boone and Locke returned from the hatch, looking tired and dejected. When Boone saw her, carrying the last of their stuff over to the new spot, he rushed over to help, taking his bag.

"Hey," he said. "Wow, what's going on?"

"The tide's rising really fast," Scarlett said. "We were lucky. We were pretty far from the waves anyway, but some people lost stuff in the water."

"Yeah," Boone said, looking back. Some people were swimming in the turbulent waves, looking for their luggage. "Hey, thanks for moving this stuff, though. Didn't you have anyone to help you?"

"I didn't need anyone," Scarlett said, shrugging. "It wasn't that much, and our stuff was pretty safe anyway. I just wanted to move it up. You know, just in case."

"What about your headache?" Boone asked as they reached the new pile and he dropped his stuff on the ground.

"The motrin helped a lot," Scarlett said with a smile. "Thanks, Boone."

"Oh, no problem," Boone said, grinning. "I totally forgot that I got some from Jack the other day."

"Why'd you get some from Jack?" Scarlett asked, her face wearing an expression of confusion.

"I got a few really bad headaches a few days ago. Jack said they were probably just stress, but he gave me a bottle to help."

"How've they been?" Scarlett asked.

"They're gone," he said, shrugging. "I was gonna give the bottle back to Jack. Now I'm glad that I didn't."

He smiled at Scarlett, and she smiled back, picking up her blanket and spreading it out over the sand. He started setting his stuff up nearby.

"So how'd you guys do today?" she asked casually.

"Nothing," Boone said, shaking his head bitterly. "There's absolutely no way to get into that hatch short of…I don't even think anything would do it. Tomorrow, John wants to try to break the glass, but…I don't think that's gonna work."

"Yeah, probably not," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "Well, I think I'll be feeling well enough to go with you tomorrow."

* * *

She was wrong. When she woke up the next morning, her headache was ten times worse than it had been the morning before. She wanted to go anyway, but Boone forced her to lie down and stay where she was.

"You need to sleep," he said.

"Sleep seems to make it worse!" Scarlett argued. Boone just handed her motrin, three this time, and walked off wordlessly into the trees. Scarlett sighed and snapped a few pictures before returning to her towel and pulling out her diary.

* * *

_Shannon was in a really bitchy mood last night. It kinda confuses me, actually. She was writing in a diary, too. I didn't know she had one. When I mentioned it, she got all mad and stormed off. Who knows, with her._

_I'm really worried about Claire. She hasn't been found yet, and it's been five days. Everyone has pretty much given up on finding her, but I don't want to. Not yet. Still…there's no trail, no hint of where she might be…what other choice do I have? So I sit here and make this present for her for when she gets back…

* * *

_

"Hey, Scarlett?"

Scarlett looked up and saw Stephanie standing above her, looking down with a frighteningly angry glare on her face.

"Hey," Scarlett said nervously. "What's up?"

"I needed to ask you something," Stephanie said. "About Boone."

"Okay," Scarlett said slowly.

"Where do the two of you go every day?" Stephanie asked. "You guys go into the woods before anyone's up, and you think that no one's awake yet…but I've seen you for the past couple of days, and I'm starting to wonder."

"We're looking for Claire," Scarlett said with rehearsed ease. "Me, Boone, and Locke."

"But I heard that there's no trail," Stephanie said. "It's been, what, five days?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly.

"And you still think you can find her?"

"Look," Scarlett snapped. "We don't want to give up yet, okay?"

Stephanie looked slightly taken aback, but she nodded slowly. "All right, fine," she said. There was a short pause, and Scarlett wondered if Stephanie was ever planning on leaving. Then, she spoke up again. "Um…look…"

She trailed off, thinking. Scarlett sighed.

"What?" she asked, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"I just wanna know what's going on between you two," Stephanie said, trying to sound like she was just wondering. Scarlett sighed.

"Nothing's going on between us," she said, feeling a stab of anger as she said those words. "Okay? I really wish that people would stop asking me this!"

"Well you spend all your time together," Stephanie retorted. "And you sleep right next to each other! I don't think it's too weird to assume that the two of you have something a little more than friendship going on."

"Well, we don't," Scarlett snapped. She knew she was being a total bitch, but she couldn't care any less. She felt sick and headachy and horrible, and Stephanie wasn't helping.

"Good," Stephanie snarled, and then she stood up. Scarlett growled under her breath and slammed her diary on the ground, standing up and starting to walk towards the beach. Then, she saw something that made her smile finally, as Stephanie vanished into the trees.

Shannon and Sayid were sitting in the shelter-like formation that Sayid had built, and they were looking over the maps that Sayid had retrieved from his stay with the French woman. The way Sayid was bent over Shannon's shoulder as she worked was so adorable that Scarlett had to take a picture. Once that was done, she looked at it and then put it in the notebook, writing a little caption for it.

The rest of the day was spent lying down and resting, while waiting impatiently for Boone to get back. Her bad mood was increasing, and the fact that she had no one to talk to was only making it worse.

After walking around and talking to John, Hurley, and Rose, she eventually sat back down on her towel, which was in the trees a little bit due to the rising of the tide from the day before. Then, she wrote in her diary, worked on a poem, sketched the ocean for a bit, and then when it got too dark, she just sat and daydreamed.

Finally, Boone and Locke came out of the woods, just as it was almost totally dark. When she saw him, she smiled with relief. He headed over right away.

"Hey," he said. "How're you feeling? Better?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Bored out of my mind, but a little better."

"A little?" Boone asked, eyebrows wiggling. Scarlett laughed.

"A little," she said again. "The headache's gone, but my stomach is killing me."

Boone's air of lighthearted concern suddenly became serious.

"Really?" he said. "Maybe I should go get Jack…"

"No, no, it's okay," Scarlett said quickly. "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" Boone asked worriedly, sitting beside her. "You aren't just saying that because you don't want to bother Jack, are you?"

"No," Scarlett said, grinning again. "I'm really okay. Sleep should do it some good."

"I thought you said sleep was making it worse," Boone retorted with a smirk.

"That was the headaches," Scarlett shot back with a sweet smile. "Anyways, how'd everything go today?"

Boone could tell that she was changing the subject, but he decided not to push it.

"Nothing, once again," he said with a heavy sigh. "We used the…" He broke off and looked around, making sure that there was no one listening in before he continued. "We used the axe…but there was no way. John was getting really pissed off, and he really would have kept going until he broke the axe…I don't know. It just kinda creeps me out how he's so obsessed with that thing."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "He really, really scares me sometimes."

"Yeah," Boone said, biting his lower lip thoughtfully. Then, he shrugged and held out a water bottle for her. She took it and took a sip, then handed it back to him. "Anyway, what did you do today?"

Scarlett groaned.

"Let's see," she said with an air of false excitement. "Woke up, sat around, wrote in my diary, walked for a bit, took pictures, walked a bit more, chatted with some people, took more pictures, had a lovely conversation with Stephanie, chatted, relaxed, wished that I was off this boring island…that sort of stuff."

She smiled, and Boone laughed.

"Sounds like you had a fun filled day. Stephanie?"

"Yeah," Scarlett groaned. "It was the usual 'you guys spend all your time together, you sleep next to each other, there must be something there' speech." She rolled her eyes. "I'm just glad she didn't stab me with something. Though I do feel kinda bad. I was being pretty bitchy."

"Well, I probably would have been too," Boone said. "I'm getting really annoyed with all the gossip."

"Me too," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. "Sawyer was saying a few days ago that it's pretty much all that the guys talk about."

"Sawyer told me that you and Kate and Shannon are all that the guys talk about," Boone smirked. "He didn't mention me."

Scarlett grinned and slapped his arm playfully.

"Yeah, well, they need lives," she grumbled, though inwardly she was flattered that the guys were talking about her.

"Stephanie needs a life," Boone remarked. "And one that doesn't involve me, preferably."

"Yeah," Scarlett laughed. "We can only hope."

Boone laughed as well and took a sip of water.

"Ugh," he said, dropping it into the sand unceremoniously. "I wish we had something other than water to drink."

"Me too," Scarlett groaned. "Like…God, I don't even know. Orange juice. I've been having an insane craving for orange juice lately."

"Probably because you haven't had it in so long," Boone remarked. Scarlett made a face.

"Don't remind me," she said with a laugh. Boone laughed as well. Then he sighed and stood up.

"I'll go get us some more water," he said, making a face. "I'll be back in a little bit."

He left, and Scarlett stared after him. When he had gotten the water from the tarp that Sayid had set up, he started back, but then he stopped and stared at something. Scarlett thought that he was staring at the fire, at first, but then she saw that he was watching Shannon and Sayid, who were sitting behind the fire. The sound of singing reached Scarlett's ears, and she realized that it was Shannon. Boone just stood there and stared, looking angry and upset.

Then he started walking back, and Scarlett turned around, pretending to look for something in her backpack. When he sat down, she pulled out her picture of Carol purely by coincidence, and stared at it. Their fire cast just enough light so she was able to see Carol's face. Boone looked at it too. When he saw it, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Who is that?" he asked her, looking up with surprise.

"Carol," Scarlett said lovingly. "Why?"

"Oh…no reason," Boone said casually. "Well...I think I'm going to go to bed now…night, Scarlett."

"Night," Scarlett said, looking at Boone oddly. What was up with him?

She sighed and put the picture away and lay down on her towel, covering herself with one sparse blanket and wishing that they had big, fluffy comforters that she could pull up to her ears.

However, after a little while, she didn't even notice the lack of comfort, and she felt herself sinking into sleep once more.

* * *

_She was standing in that clearing with the white flowers. All around her flew giant, colorful butterflies and even more colorful birds. Chirping and the fluttering of the wings were the only noises present, and there was no one with her, for once. It was…peaceful._

_"Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett turned around to face Claire, who was standing a little ways away._

_"Claire!" Scarlett exclaimed. She started running towards her friend, but Claire held up her arms, a panicked expression on her face._

_"Stop!" she yelled. "It's a trap!"_

_Scarlett skidded to a stop, but it was too late. She tripped over the unseen wire, and the two bodies fell from the trees. She screamed as they both landed on top of her, and she backed away, towards Claire._

_"What the hell is going on?" she asked with disgust. Claire just pointed wordlessly to the bodies. Scarlett turned and then let out another horrified scream as she realized that they were the bodies of Sawyer and Boone._

_"You shouldn't have come," Claire said numbly, sinking to the ground slowly. Scarlett ran to the two bodies. The blood covering their bodies was dry, and flies were gathering around them. Claire started sobbing. Scarlett bent down next to Sawyer and felt for a pulse. There was nothing. She felt her hands fly to her mouth, and she began to sob. Then, she knelt beside Boone and felt for a pulse on him._

_He was alive. Just as she realized that, his eyes flew open, and he stared at her, gasping for breath._

_"Run," he choked out._

_"No," she sobbed. "I'm not leaving you here, Boone."_

_He reached up and took her hand, with some difficulty._

_"You have to run," he said. "Run back. Don't turn around."_

_"Run back to where?" Scarlett asked, biting her lip to keep from crying._

_"You know where," Boone said. "There's nothing for you here."_

_Then Scarlett realized that he was talking about running back to Stephen._

_"There's nothing for me there, Boone," she whispered. "I'm staying."_

_Boone gazed at her sadly, and then nodded slowly. Then, with one more breath, he died.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke from the dream, her eyes snapping open. Something was wrong. Something…

She felt something on her back, and she looked over her shoulder to see that Boone had moved over in his sleep so he was sleeping right next to her, his arm draped over her waist gently. There was a small, barely noticeable smile on his face.

Scarlett smiled as well, and allowed herself to settle down closer to Boone, enjoying the comfort that it brought her. She knew that it was just something that he did unconsciously while sleeping, so she could pretend that she responded to it unconsciously in her sleep as well. No one would ever know the difference.

With a small smile that nearly mirrored Boone's, she closed her eyes and softly eased into a blissfully peaceful sleep.


	40. Hearts And Minds Part 1

Rrrrrr, I hate school. I'm so frickin tired, and with AP classes I have _no _time for writing thanks to all their goddamned homework! Doesn't help that I've started a new story as well! Sooo busy! Hahaha.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again! I would be sooo happy!

I'm leaving for Florida very VERY soon, and I have noooo time to respond to reviews :( I'm sorry! I promise I'll do it next time!

I can't update for a week :( :( :( I'll be back then, though, and I'll update right away!

I'm also gonna miss the Lost season premiere. Fucker!

One thing: Several of you mentioned Arzt and how Eddie said his name as Arts. That was because Hurley kept screwing up his name and calling him Arts, so I figured I'd make Eddie do it too, considering that Arzt isn't a very common name! Hahaha

Onward!

* * *

**Hearts and Minds (1): **A Little Mix-up, A Whole Lot of Annoyance

_Mmm, someone smells good…_Boone thought with a wry smile as he awoke with someone pressed close against him. Someone who smelled _delicious_. He murmured something unintelligible, which was _supposed_ to be a compliment, but it didn't really matter. She was still sleeping. She couldn't hear him anyway.

"Shan?" he whispered, but then he realized that Shannon never smelled like this. Like…what was that, anyway? Mangos? Something fruity. Shannon always smelled like designer labels. Strong, enticing…but never this good. So who was…?

His eyes flew open. His arm was wrapped around her waist, and his cheek was against her hair. Brown, soft hair. She was breathing slowly; still sleeping.

"Shit," he muttered in a laughing tone, backing away quickly and scooting over to his sleeping spot. Scarlett mumbled in her sleep and rolled over.

"Stephen…" he heard, before she fell silent, sighing heavily, sounding sad. He felt a little bad for leaving her, and almost laid back down next to her, but then he thought of the awkwardness that would ensue if she woke up with him sleeping next to her like that. That would _definitely _not be good.

Instead, he just stood up, wincing slightly as the movement sent a flare of pain up his knee. Sleeping on the ground was really making him sore in the morning. He bent down and rubbed the spot irritably, picking up his water bottle and rummaging around on the ground for Scarlett's before taking that as well and moving over to the tarp.

After filling his water, he looked around and noticed that Stephanie was sitting up at her bed about twenty feet away, writing in her diary. Boone felt a stab of fear. Had she seen anything? It was still dark out, and it was hard to see…maybe she hadn't.

But all his hopes were dashed when she looked up, and he saw the glare that she shot Scarlett. The male instinct to protect the woman came over him, and he started moving over to Scarlett slowly.

"Hey, Boone?"

Boone turned around to face Locke, who was standing a few feet away, smiling.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We're gonna take a little break this morning," Locke said, walking forward. "Nothing too long, but a few hours at least. I've got to do some thinking."

"Okay," Boone said, knowing that it was better not to ask questions with Locke, even thought his statement was one that definitely warranted questions. "Sure. I'll probably be somewhere around here when you need me."

"I'll find you," Locke replied, and Boone smiled at him before walking off back towards Scarlett. He noticed that she was sitting up and rubbing her eyes, and that Stephanie was moving towards her swiftly.

"Scarlett!" Boone called to her as soon as he was close enough to her to be in earshot. She turned around, tilting her head to one side in a tired, questioning gesture. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Um…okay," Scarlett murmured sleepily, making an attempt to stand up and failing miserably. Boone grinned and helped her up. "Where to?"

"Anywhere," he muttered, taking her arm and starting to walk quickly. Scarlett glanced at him with confusion, but decided not to say anything. Either he had his reasons, or was just completely crazy. She was too tired to care either way.

They walked down the beach until they were no longer stepping over sleeping castaways, and then Boone glanced back over his shoulder. When he saw that Stephanie was standing at the edge of the trees, back where they had come from, with an angry and watchful glare, he made a face.

"All right, what's up?" Scarlett asked, fixing her hair meticulously.

"Stephanie was on the war path," Boone said. Scarlett smiled slightly.

"I can handle Stephanie," she said.

"I didn't want to take any chances," Boone said with a grin. Scarlett shrugged.

"Thanks. But why was she so mad?" she asked casually. "I don't get it."

"Well…" Boone said slowly. "Um…I…" He trailed off and shook his head. This was the awkward moment that he had wanted to avoid. "I don't know."

Scarlett gave him a look.

"What did you do?" she asked him with a heavy sigh and a small smile.

"Nothing!" Boone protested automatically. Then, he sighed. "Okay, well, something…but it was unintentional."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow, waiting.

"Well?" she said, when he didn't continue. He sighed.

"When I was sleeping, I moved closer to you because I thought you were…um…the person I was having a dream about. But then I woke up, saw it was you, and backed off…but not before Stephanie saw."

"_What_?" Scarlett asked incredulously, somehow managing not to laugh or blow her cover.

"I know!" Boone exclaimed. "I was sleeping!"

"Do I _want _to know what the _hell_ you were dreaming about?" Scarlett asked, laughing. Boone tried not to smile, but he ended up smiling anyway.

"Funny," he said sarcastically. "I was dreaming about…um…Ellen. My ex-girlfriend."

"Ah," Scarlett said, though the hesitation in his voice made her a tiny bit suspicious. "I see. Well, next time you dream about her, remember who you're sleeping next to."

Boone grinned at her. The moment wasn't awkward at all, as he first feared it would be. In fact, it was almost…funny.

"Sure thing, Scar," he said. Scarlett smiled at him.

"Now, come on," she said. "Let's go back."

"What about Stephanie?" Boone asked.

"Please, Boone, if that bitch starts anything, she'd better watch out," Scarlett retorted. "Besides, Sawyer _did _say that if you were seen hanging around another woman a lot, then she'd back off."

"Yeah, but she definitely was _not _backing off," Boone said, grinning nervously. "She was _stalking _towards you."

"That's always good," Scarlett said, grinning. "But whatever…we have way worse problems than her…jealousy."

"Yeah," Boone said sadly, knowing that Scarlett was thinking about Claire.

"Oh, hey," Scarlett said, brightening up. "I have to show you. I got this idea for a little…gift, I guess, for Claire when she gets back."

"Really?" Boone asked, grinning. "What is it?"

"Well," Scarlett said, as they started walking. "I was taking pictures, and I decided that I would put them in a notebook that I have, with captions and everything, so that when she gets back, she'll know what she missed."

Boone smiled.

"Pretty good idea," he said. "And even if it wasn't for Claire, it's a good idea. You know, so that we'll have kind of a…record of what happened."

"Oh, I've got that already," Scarlett laughed. "I've been writing down everything in my diary."

"Yeah, and your diary is enormous," Boone laughed.

"That it is," Scarlett said with a grin. "And I got a few more, too, in case I fill this one up. I asked Sawyer for a few the other day."

"And he gave them to you?" Boone asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, as if the word were synonymous with 'duh'. "It's _Sawyer_."

"Exactly," Boone said, grinning. "He's a great guy, but he's…you know, a little possessive of his things."

"Well, yeah," Scarlett laughed. "And you've got the bruises to prove it…but he's always given me things when I ask for them. I think it's because I actually _ask. _If you notice, Jack always just demands things from him. I think that might be why Sawyer hates Jack so much."

"That would definitely make sense," Boone laughed. By this point, they were back at their stuff. Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. "Let me see that thing for Claire."

Scarlett pulled it out of her luggage.

"I have to get some glue or tape or something to keep the pictures in. I might ask Locke for some. He said the other day that he knew how to make it."

"Really?" Boone asked. "Huh, that guy knows how to do _everything_."

"Hey," Scarlett said with sudden realization, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you and Locke be gone by now?"

"Well, we're taking a break for a few hours. Locke has to think about something…I take it you don't feel up to it again?"

"No," Scarlett admitted. "A splitting headache _again_."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. Boone smiled humorlessly.

"Maybe you should go to Jack," he said.

"No, it's all right," Scarlett said. "It's not as bad as it was the other day."

"Yeah, but still, it's bad, right?"

"Not really," Scarlett lied. It was a horrible attempt, and Boone saw right through it.

"Okay," he said. "I'll give it one more day. But if you have a headache tomorrow, then I'm going to take you to see Jack if I have to drag you there."

"Deal," Scarlett said, grinning. She had a feeling that if her headache continued, then she definitely wasn't going to say anything about it to Boone.

"Okay, so let's take a look at this thing," Boone said, opening the book. The first page showed Shannon storming out of Sawyer's shelter. Beneath it, Scarlett had neatly written: _Sawyer, once again, pissed someone off today. Shannon, once again, was a bitch today. You didn't miss much. _

The next picture was Traci and Steve cuddling by the water. Scarlett had written: _Traci and Steve have been getting really close. It's kinda cute, only I think I remember Traci saying something about her husband when we first crashed. Hmm…I'll ask around. _

The picture below that was of the suitcases floating out to sea, and people trying to get them. She had managed to get a good shot of Jack pointing to the side and yelling at someone. She had written: _Our fearless leader comes down from the caves to stand around and yell at people who are trying to get their luggage back. The tide's rising really fast. Creepy? I think so._

After that was another picture of the tide, and then one of a particularly beautiful sunset. The last picture was Shannon and Sayid working at the maps. Under it, it said: _Wow, talk about a weird couple! Well, they're cute, anyway! _

Boone smiled at her when he was done, though it looked a little pained.

"Wow," he said. "Even _I _didn't know about Traci and Steve."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling. "Apparently, they've been getting really close lately. Of course, I'm almost positive that she has a husband, but whatever. People really don't think we're going to be rescued anytime soon."

"What about you?" Boone asked. "Do _you_ think we're going to get rescued?"

Scarlett just shrugged.

"I used to think so," she said. "But now…I don't know. It's been a while. Almost a month, now. It's…too long."

"Yeah," Boone said thoughtfully. "It _has_ been a while. I think that's because we were so far off course."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, though she knew that she couldn't be the only one who noticed all the weird, freaky, almost supernatural things on the island. After all, there were many of them. She thought that maybe that had a hand in keeping them on the island. "I don't know. I just…hope it's soon."

If Boone noticed the hesitation in the last sentence, he didn't say anything. Scarlett had a feeling that he _had _noticed. Boone always seemed to notice things.

"Me too," he remarked. He handed the book back to Scarlett. She tucked it safely into her bag.

"I'm gonna go take a bath and change," she said. It had been too long since the last time she had changed, and she couldn't even remember her last bath (which was, really, just a swim in the ocean).

"Okay," Boone said. "You need some of that shampoo stuff?"

"Sure," Scarlett said. "Do we have any left?"

In the past few days, she and Boone had taken a habit of referring to their things as 'our stuff'. They shared almost everything that they had, with the exception of clothing, and neither of them thought anything of it anymore.

"Yeah," Boone said. "I'll try to get more from Sun today."

"Okay," Scarlett said. "Actually, why don't I? I'll be here all day. You use your time to relax. You need to stop working."

"I like working," Boone retorted, smiling.

"You do it too much," Scarlett laughed. She took the shampoo, which was in one of the water bottles, and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a clean shirt from her suitcase.

"You're lucky, you actually found your luggage," Boone grumbled. "I have no clue where any of my clothes are."

Scarlett glanced at him. He was wearing jeans that were way too big for him and a gray sleeveless shirt. His pants were held up by a belt that was pulled extremely tight. It was so unbelievably adorable that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Are those the best-fitting clothes you could find?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied with a grin. "They're a tad bit too big."

"That's because you're so thin," Scarlett laughed. You're a _twig_."

Boone laughed as well.

"I wouldn't say I was a _twig_," he began, but Scarlett shook her head.

"You're a _twig_," she said, smiling at him. Then, she picked up her towel. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Boone said. They separated, and Boone moved over to Locke, while Scarlett walked down to the ocean. She stripped down to her bathing suit, and then placed her stuff far enough away from the waves so that nothing would get washed out to sea.

"Ocean looks pretty dangerous, Sox," came Sawyer's voice from behind her. Scarlett smiled to herself and looked over her shoulder, where Sawyer was standing.

"Do you have a bathing radar or something?" she asked him, grinning.

"Hell, maybe I do," he replied casually. "Actually, I wouldn't mind joining you for a swim today. I think I'm starting to smell."

He walked towards Scarlett, and she smiled.

"Hey, sure," she said. "Why not? And yes, you _reek_."

Both of them laughed, and then Sawyer took off his shirt, leaving on his jeans. They waded into the water, and then Sawyer dove into the waves. When he emerged from under them, he shook his hair out like a little kid, letting out a whooping yell.

"Come on in, the water's great," he yelled with a roguish wink. Scarlett dove in as well. The water was shockingly cold, but that didn't bother her in the least bit, and she emerged from the water a few feet away from Sawyer, gasping for breath and grinning.

"You're right," she said, lazily floating on her back. "The water _is _great."

Scarlett spotted Kate walking towards the water, and she waved.

"Hey, Freckles!" Sawyer yelled. "Why don't you join us?"

Kate glared at Sawyer for a moment, but then her gaze softened.

"Give me a few minutes," she said. Scarlett glanced at Sawyer.

"You wanna tell me what that was about?" she asked. Sawyer grinned and related the story of the little pond with the waterfall and the metal case that she wanted. Scarlett decided that she would ask Kate about the whole story later, when Sawyer wasn't around. She had a feeling that Kate probably wouldn't feel like telling the story around him.

Sawyer and Scarlett floated around for a few minutes, talking about stuff like Traci and Steve, Stephanie's almost frightening obsessiveness, and the men of the island who ogled at Kate, Shannon, Scarlett, and even Claire.

"Men," Sawyer said mockingly. Scarlett laughed.

"You're one of those men, aren't you?" she said. Sawyer shrugged.

"Why the hell not?" he asked. "If there's something good to look at, then I look at it. I appreciate beauty, darlin'. Any man on this island that tells you he ain't secretly washed while you were changin' is either a liar or a blind man." He grinned. "And, last time I checked, there weren't any blind men around here."

Scarlett laughed and shook her head, surprised that she didn't feel even a little bit of discomfort knowing that the men on the island enjoyed watching her change. After all, if they liked watching her, wasn't that flattering? She thought so.

"You might not want to give that speech to Kate," she said with a small smile. "I have a feeling that she wouldn't find it as funny as I do."

Sawyer laughed.

"I have a feeling that you're right, Sox," he remarked. "At least _you _have a sense of humor."

Scarlett smiled at him and ducked her head languidly under the water. It felt so good to be swimming…it felt like everything was okay, and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Of course, that was hardly the case, but it felt like that all the same.

When Scarlett's head emerged from the water, she spotted Kate walking towards them, wearing a bathing suit. Scarlett smiled.

"There you are," she said, grinning. "Come on in!"

Kate smiled to herself and glanced at Sawyer, slightly surprised to see that he was looking at her in return. She smiled slightly, and he nodded his head and smiled as well. The message was passed between them clearly. They were managing to keep a smile on Scarlett's face. They were managing to get her mind off of Claire. That was as good as they could hope to do.

"Come on, Freckles," Sawyer said jovially. "Join our little bathing party."

Kate smiled at that and put down her stuff next to Scarlett's.

"Could you grab that water bottle with the shampoo?" Scarlett asked. Kate picked it up.

"You still have shampoo?" she asked enviously, looking at the clear, pinkish liquid.

"Sun gave it to us," Scarlett replied. Kate started walking towards the waves. "She made it out of some plants or something. She showed me how to make it, but I doubt I'll be as good as her." She gave a wry grin. "I'll find some way to screw things up."

Kate laughed.

"I'm the same way," she said. She tossed the bottle to Scarlett and dove headfirst into the waves gracefully.

While she swam underwater, she thought about Scarlett. She reminded Kate a lot of herself, because of the quiet way she had, as if she was afraid to talk too much because she didn't want to give away anything about her past. She also looked wary, like a beaten dog might look. That was a sure sign of a hard life.

Kate knew that was why she trusted and liked Scarlett so much. She knew that was why her advice regarding Jack and Sawyer always seemed to be the advice that she would listen to. She also knew that that was why she was so intent on making the other girl happy.

As Kate emerged from under the surface, and saw Scarlett laughing as Sawyer splashed her playfully, she smiled and nodded her head to Sawyer appreciatively. They were on the same page regarding Scarlett. They knew that anything to get her mind off of Claire would be a good thing. They needed to start preparing Scarlett for the fact that Claire might not be coming back. It had been almost six days. It felt like much longer, but in any case, six days was a pretty long time for someone to be lost in the jungle without a trace. And no one even had any idea where to look.

So, three days before, Kate had gathered Sawyer, Boone, Sayid, Michael, Eddie, Jack, and Locke together and said that they really needed to keep Scarlett's mind off of Claire. Charlie seemed to be doing much better. Even though sometimes they would catch him staring off into space, he was still the same, eager to help, jolly Charlie. He missed Claire, that much was certain, but he seemed to accept that she was gone, and he was starting to move on. And, as cruel as it was, Kate wanted Scarlett to do the same thing.

Scarlett's life was almost like a stage, and only she was the one who didn't know she was acting. Little problems were made up just for her to help solve. People went to her for advice that wasn't really needed. Kate felt bad about it all, because Scarlett was always so kind and gave excellent advice, but it was good to see the slow change in her. She was starting to smile a lot more, and she seemed to sometimes even forget that Claire was gone. She seemed to be almost moving on.

Kate swam over to Scarlett and Sawyer. Scarlett was unscrewing the top of the bottle.

"You want some too?" she asked Kate as she poured a little bit into her hand.

"Thanks," Kate said, grinning as she poured the same amount. She grinned at Sawyer. "How about you, Sawyer?"

"Why the hell not?" he asked with a teasing nudge. "The damn hair don't wash itself."

Scarlett smiled at him and started lathering the shampoo in her hair. Kate did the same. Sawyer watched them with a smile.

"Do you have to stare at us?" Scarlett asked in a laughing tone. "It's not like it's anything remotely sexy. We're _washing our hair_."

"Well, the two of you look good doing damn near anything," Sawyer replied with a mirthful grin. Scarlett laughed. After a moment, Kate allowed a small smile.

"Thanks, Sawyer," Scarlett said sarcastically. "And I'm sure you look just as good washing your hair too."

"Hell, you think so?" Sawyer asked, laughing again. Kate just watched on with a small amount of sadness. She always felt like she was the only one who couldn't joke around. Like she was…different somehow. It was an awkward feeling.

"Oh yes," Scarlett said, laughing as Sawyer began to lather the shampoo on his scalp. "Amazingly sexy, Sawyer. What do you think, Kate? Beautiful, huh?"

Kate smiled. She felt a little weird telling Sawyer to his face that he was clearly one of the best looking men on the island. Wasn't that a little…forward? Then, she looked at Scarlett's face, and decided that she didn't really give a damn.

"Gorgeous," she laughed, managing to sound normal and not embarrassed at all. Sawyer and Scarlett both smiled at her, and she couldn't decide who looked happier.

* * *

After she finished her bath, Scarlett toweled off, got dressed in her new clothes, and deposited her stuff with the rest of it. Sawyer and Kate were still swimming in the ocean, splashing each other and talking. Scarlett watched them with a small smile on her face. They looked so adorable and absolutely perfect out there. She wondered how Kate could ever even _consider_ Jack.

Once Scarlett was done putting all her stuff away, she looked around for someone to talk to. Specifically, Boone. She spotted him sitting by a tree not too far away, staring off into space. A closer examination revealed that Shannon and Sayid were sitting nearby, talking.

Scarlett walked up to Boone and sat beside him. He didn't even look at her. She didn't think that he had even noticed she was there. She just watched him, feeling the heat from his body radiating off of him. He was almost…glaring at Shannon and Sayid. He looked almost…jealous.

"Boone?"

Scarlett tried to suppress a giggle when Boone jumped nearly a foot into the air, but didn't manage very well.

"Hey," he said with a nervous grin. "Sorry, I…"

"Yo, Boone," came Hurley's cheerful and friendly voice, startling both of them this time. "Question for you, dude."

"Yeah?" Boone said, smiling weakly.

"You and Locke are going out hunting boar every day, right?" Hurley asked uneasily. Scarlett wondered if he felt like he was interrupting anything.

"What about it?" Boone asked defensively.

"It's cool," Hurley responded automatically. "Except…uh…how come…uh… you're not coming back with any?" It was clear from the way that he was fidgeting that he wasn't really comfortable being this rude, which really wasn't all that rude at all, to Boone. "We haven't had fresh pork on a plate in about a week, dude."

Scarlett, though she felt mostly fear for their secret, also felt a stab of pity for poor Hurley.

"It'd not like they're domesticated animals," Boone said casually, with practiced ease.

"Maybe you guys aren't trying hard enough?" Hurley asked with a touch of hopefulness.

"We're hunting, all right?" Boone said irritably. Hurley bit his lip.

"I hope so," he muttered. "Cus people need food, man. Solid food." Boone just stared at him. "This isn't a game, man."

Boone just turned back to watch Shannon and Sayid, that jealous look on his face. Scarlett looked at Hurley apologetically.

"We know it's not a game," she said gently. "It's just that the boar are so hard to find. I think we're starting to, you know, run out. We're looking farther and harder each day. We've been getting back later…" She trailed off and shook her head. Hurley looked like he felt bad about ever saying anything.

"Yeah," he said. "I know. Sorry, I guess. It's just, you know, I'm hungry."

Scarlett smiled sadly.

"I know," she said. "But there's plenty to eat. I'm sure you'll find something."

"Yeah," Hurley said, though he didn't sound very optimistic. "See you later, Scarlett. Boone."

Boone didn't even register Hurley's words. He just stared at Shannon and Sayid still. Hurley walked off, looking very let down. Scarlett turned towards Boone.

"Hey," she said. He glanced at her with surprise, as if he had forgotten that she was there. "What was that all about?"

"What?" Boone asked innocently. Scarlett sighed.

"Never mind," she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She stood up wearily. "I'm gonna go…do something. Take pictures. I'll talk to you later."

She walked off, not noticing that Boone stared after her reluctantly, and then returned to his jealous examination of his sister and her apparent new boy-toy.

* * *

Ahhhh, I'm leaving in like…ten minutes! No time! No time!

I'll update when I get back!

Please review and I love you all! 3 3 3


	41. Hearts And Minds Part 2

Whoooo! I'm back! Florida was cool…but my sister got stung by a jellyfish. She's okay but we were both really freaked out at the time. I thought a shark got her! AHH that was scary!

But I got a Lost shirt! Its black and the words are white and it says "Get Lost" and the Lost is all capital letters and is all faded and has palm trees and water and a sunset all around it, and its all white and such and pretty! Hehehe! I almost passed out when I saw it!

Thanks reviwers! I love you guys so much. 305! I got 305 reviews! Holy crap! PLEASE review again :) Maybe I'll get to 500 by the end! Ahhhh that prospect is very exciting to me!

**Izzy: **Hahaha, I just thought of something that reminds me of you. I had this English teacher in ninth grade and tenth grade, and she was my homeroom teacher for tenth grade and now this year too, and she's like…23 and VERY nice. So everytime I saw her in the hall, she'd say 'hi Julia" and I'd respond "hi, Miss Conlon" or something like that. But then this year over the summer she got married, and now her name is Mrs. Lafayette. And for 2 years I had been calling her Miss Conlon, so calling her Mrs. Lafayette is the BIGGEST challenge ever! It reminds me so much of how I'm getting good at remembering to call you Izzy, hahaha.  
I actually did see Lost! We TiVoed it here at my house when I was in Florida. I was so pissed that I had to miss it because we were at a Red Sox game against Tampa the night it premiered! Me and my sister asked some guy at a bar outside our gate if we could turn it on, but he wouldn't. It was very rude! Hahaha. But I _did _watch it, and I was so happy, even though the episode confused the shit outta me! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing as always!

**Paige03: **Thanks! It was fun! No school for a week is what I'm talking about! Hahaha.  
Sweet! I wish I had watched the repeats! I never did, because I had them all on the computer, but I still should have, just to see Boone again!  
Yeah, she's kinda oblivious, that Scarlett. I thought it was a good way to bring Kate and Sawyer together, since I so desperately want them to be :)  
FRIDAY! YES! Hahahaa. I loooooove Fridays! Thanks for the review!

**Saraiyu: **I think I should write a Skate fic, because I love writing those two, hahaha. Especially in the context of Scarlett's world though, since she kind of unknowingly brings them together. Hmm…maybe I'll write one later :) hehe. Thanks for the review!

**Xephon: **Yeah, Scarlett probably is Mary-Sueish, because I wanted her to be someone that the readers would like, and I really don't mind Mary-Sues. However, she's most definitely not perfect. She makes extremely stupid decisions, as you'll see in episode 14 in a flashback, and sometimes takes forever to get something through her head…like getting over Stephen. And remember that the quote about her having a way with people was from Boone's perception. He was thinking about her and how he feels about her, so its not the most unbiased of views, considering they're pretty close friends.  
And…uh…well….Jack? hehe, ummmmm….yeah, I wouldn't say he's my _favorite _character. I do like Matthew Fox, though. I have no problems with him, and he's funny and he looked hot on Jimmy Kimmel the other night. I just don't like Jack's arrogant leaderlyness and his occasional hypocrisy regarding Kate. However, though Scarlett and Jack don't really get along well at this point in the story, there will be some major reconciliation later on, and an explanation as to why Jack's attitude annoys her so much.  
The only thing is that I will never, EVER write a Jate fic…even if the show goes in that direction. It will just never happened. Ana-Lucia/Jack, however, I think is a very cute ship! I'll probably write them at one point once she shows up.  
Thanks for the review!

**Itsonlyme: **Haha, thanks for the input! I am now totally decided about what to do with Boone. It's only a matter of time…hehe! Thanks for the review!

**Dark Syrinx: **Yeah, he really does have a weird name…and he really was a jerk! When he said that to Hurley about losing weight I got all mad, hahhaa. Cus I loooove Hurley!  
I watched it! I was so excited! Me and my sister literally got home from the airport, sat down, and watched it. There was no unpacking involved! Hahaha.  
Hahaha, yeah, Boone's a little protective. Which is good considering that I can so see Stephanie just up and stabbing her with something one day if she's not careful! And we definitely wouldn't want that!  
Hehehe, you're just gonna have to wait to find out if they get together. La la la…  
Boone so should have been shirtless more! He was only shirtless in White Rabbit when he was trying to save Joanna and in Do No Harm! It's so unfair! A hot sexy guy like that shouldn't be allowed to wear a shirt for that long! And he lives on in my heart too! Hahaha!  
I know, I really don't think Jack is all that hot! When you got other men to choose from like Sawyer and Boone and Charlie…why Jack? Honestly! Hahaha. And Locke…oh yes, so totally a hot man right there. ;)  
I love Kate too, she's so cool! Yeah, the past thing is a little weird. I hope we get to find out what she did soon, cus the wait is really wearing on me! Haha! Yeah, Sun's cool too. I liked her all along, but REALLY started liking her when she took care of Boone. That's when I was like 'wow, she's cool!' Hahaha, and yes, I did like your cultural lesson; taught me a lot!  
I know…that part pissed me off with Jack. I just can't stand how everything has to be science and realism. He can't just for one second give someone a little bit of hope! Like his father said in the premiere…you gotta give them hope!  
I loooove Hurley too :D :D :D! He's soooo awesome!  
Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Hearts and Minds (2): **The Right Time

Scarlett walked around for a little bit, pretending to do stuff, when really she just watched Boone and Shannon and Sayid suspiciously. What was his deal, anyway? Why was he so obsessed with who Shannon hung out with? It wasn't like Sayid was a bad guy. In fact, Scarlett was positive that Boone had said something before about Sayid being a great guy. What was the huge deal?

She sighed and sat down near her stuff, pulling out her journal with an almost animalistic anger. She heard a soft chuckle in front of her, and she glanced up with surprise. Kate was standing there, looking down at her.

"Hey," she said, grinning and pulling her wet mass of curls up onto her head. "Something wrong?"

The falsely innocent tone with which she said those words led Scarlett to believe that she already knew that there was indeed something wrong, and that she knew precisely what that something was.

"It's just…Boone," she said, smiling sadly. "I was so excited about giving up Stephen's memory and moving on that I didn't even stop to think that maybe he wouldn't want me…"

"Don't start _that_," Kate said with a small smile. "It's so obvious that he _does _want you that it's almost sickening. There's just something in his way. Feelings for someone else, most likely."

"He told Claire that he didn't have a girlfriend," Scarlett muttered.

"Maybe not," Kate said reassuringly. "But he probably has had feelings for someone for a very long time…kind of like you and your…Stephen."

Scarlett glanced at Kate and smiled sadly.

"You know that thing that we said?" she said quietly. "How we said that when we needed it most…?"

"We would tell each other," Kate finished, nodding grimly. "I remember."

"Well, I don't think I ever needed it any more than I do right now," Scarlett whispered sadly. "Claire's still missing, I'm so…messed up right now with Stephen and those dreams, and this whole stupid thing with Boone isn't helping…I think I want to tell you about it, now."

Kate nodded.

"Go for it," she said sadly, and Scarlett began.

* * *

For the next half hour, Scarlett recounted her frightening past, while Kate listened, sympathetic and horrified for her friend. She gasped at the moments when she was shocked, wiped tears when Scarlett recited a particularly saddening piece, and felt herself glowing red with anger whenever Scarlett mentioned something that called for it. She was a great listener.

When Scarlett was finished, she was near tears, and Kate was right there with her. She pulled Scarlett into a comforting hug, and the two of them sat there for a long time, crying together.

"I guess I'm not the only person who's glad that we get a chance to start over here," Kate said after a long time.

"No," Scarlett said with a small laugh. "You're not."

"Scarlett…I'm glad that you were able to get over Stephen," Kate said slowly. "Because…he doesn't seem, you know…right for you."

"He really isn't," Scarlett said softly. "Now that I think about it…I was always trying to be someone that I wasn't around him. I was always pretending that stupid things that he liked interested me. I was always acting older than I was…I really wasn't happy at all, but he created that false sense of…security, I guess, that made me feel like I _was _happy."

"I know how that feels," Kate said sympathetically. Scarlett smiled sadly at her, and Kate hugged her again. This time, they just sat there for a very long time, with Kate hugging Scarlett so tightly that it was as if she was trying to _squeeze _the bad memories out of her. After a long, long while, Boone walked past them, and Kate stood up. "I'll be right back," she said.

"Where are you going?" Scarlett asked, looking horrified. "Kate…"

"Don't worry," Kate said, grinning. "You'll thank me later."

Scarlett, though absolutely terrified about what Kate might say to Boone, remained where she was sitting. She wasn't really sure what it was that stopped her from jumping up and stopping Kate from doing anything stupid. It may have been her trust for Kate, or maybe just because she was too tired to prevent it. It may have even been the fact that she was out of ideas, and wondered if what Kate was going to do would work.

* * *

Kate caught up to Boone just out of Scarlett's eyesight, behind some trees.

"Hey, Boone?" she said casually. He turned around to face her, looking surprised.

"Oh, hey," he said, waving slightly. "What's up?"

"Scarlett's really upset," Kate remarked. "She was talking about Claire and then she just lost it."

"Is she okay?" Boone asked, his brow furrowing immediately with worry.

"Yeah," Kate said, hesitating slightly, just for the right amount of time, so that he would get anxious. "She's just really scared. I thought maybe you should talk to her."

"Yeah, sure," Boone said absently, biting his lip. "But…uh…why me?"

Kate shrugged.

"You're the one she seems to listen to the most. You tell her everything's gonna be okay, and she listens. She trusts you way more than she trusts me."

Kate shrugged again and then walked off. Boone, without another thought, hurried off towards Scarlett.

* * *

"Hey," he said, sitting down. Scarlett smiled and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Hi," she said in reply.

"Are you all right?" he asked gingerly, biting his lip. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I was just talking with Kate."

"Yeah," Boone said. "She said that you were upset about something."

"Oh," Scarlett said, smiling sadly.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," Boone continued. "But apparently you're not. Looks like I have to fix that."

"Shouldn't you be out _hunting boar_," Scarlett said, though there was a hint of laughter in her voice that Boone picked up on immediately.

"Locke hasn't come to get me yet," he said casually. "Besides, I can stay here for a while and comfort my friend, can't I?"

"Boone…" Scarlett began warningly, but Boone wasn't about to let her get a word in.

"So what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Scarlett lied. "I'm fine."

Boone shot her a look.

"Liar," he said with a small grin. Scarlett smiled as well.

"I'm as fine as I have been since Claire went missing," she said. "Better?"

"All right," Boone said reluctantly. "I'll take that. Are you sure you're all right though?"

"Yeah," Scarlett answered. "I was just thinking."

"Oh, well that explains it," Boone said. "Thinking isn't always a good thing."

Scarlett smiled sadly, remembering when, on the second day after they had crashed, Sayid had said something along those lines.

"Yeah," she said, letting out a small, humorless laugh. "It's not."

Boone started to say something, but then Scarlett stood up quickly.

"Hey…" Boone said, standing up as well and putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. Don't worry."

"I need to talk to Locke," Scarlett said sadly. Boone nodded understandingly.

"I'll be around if you need me," he said. Scarlett nodded.

"Okay," she said, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks."

"No problem," he responded, smiling sadly. She turned and walked off towards where Locke was just coming out of the woods, looking like he had just walked back from the caves.

She walked up to him, slightly nervous. The man still scared her, even though she had spent the majority of her time with him since Claire had gotten kidnapped.

"John?"

Locke smiled at Scarlett as she approached him.

"Hi, Scarlett," he said.

"Are you and Boone going out to…uh…hunt today?"

"Yes, we are," Locke replied with a smile. "Boone told me about your headache."

"Yeah," Scarlett said absently. "But…uh…I think it's better now. I think I'll be okay to go with you guys."

"Maybe you should give it one more day," Locke replied. "Besides…" He looked around and lowered his voice. "I want to try something with Boone today. Something…" He paused. "Character building. Tomorrow, you'll be able to come with us." He gave a big, toothy smile that made Scarlett feel slightly wary yet completely trusting. It was an odd combination of feelings, and she wasn't sure that she liked it.

"O…okay," she said, not quite sure what Locke meant by "character building". Still, what was she supposed to do…argue? She just nodded and smiled. "I'll see you when you get back, then?"

"Yeah," Locke said, smiling genially. "I appreciate your help, Scarlett. I'm glad that you offer. Oh…and don't say anything about all this to Boone, all right? I want it to be a surprise."

Scarlett nodded. It sounded innocent and harmless enough.

"Your secret's safe with me," she said, grinning at him. He smiled back.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll talk to you later, Scarlett."

"Okay," Scarlett said, waving. "See you later."

She started walking back towards her stuff, and heard Locke calling for Boone. She heaved a huge sigh. Another boring day was ahead of her, and she just couldn't wait for it to be over.

* * *

As it had been several weeks of living on the island, Scarlett was beginning to notice that people didn't really sit around and look at the waves anymore. At least, not with the same watchful fervor that they used to. Occasionally, Scarlett would see people glancing out at the ocean, as if making sure that they weren't missing the sight of any rescue boats, but other than that, people seemed to forget that they had ever considered the ocean their salvation.

On that day, Scarlett decided that watching the soothing rocking motion of the sea was exactly what she needed. Her headache was creeping back, and it felt good to just sit there and watch and wait. She didn't even notice that two hours had gone by, until she happened to glance at the watch on her wrist.

* * *

_"You see this watch?" asked the sneering, drunken voice._

_Scarlett stared at the ground, her eyes threatening to overflow with tears. _

_"Yes," she whispered. _

_"You ain't _lookin'_," growled Mark. Scarlett forced herself to look up and see the watch that he was wearing on his wrist. _

_"I see it," she whispered, her chin coming up defiantly. She was only thirteen, but already she was starting to accumulate some of the pride that she would later have shattered by Stephen._

_"This is the watch that I took from your grandmother's house. It was the watch she was wearing when she died."_

_He laughed eerily. _

_"Your mother wanted to give it to you. She couldn't find out where the hell the damn watch was. You shoulda seen her, getting all upset about it. It was the funniest damn thing."_

_He chuckled and walked out of the room, leaving Scarlett breathing heavily behind him. She would get that watch. She swore it to herself at that moment._

_And the night she killed him, she got it at last.

* * *

_

Scarlett tore her gaze away from the watch with a sour sigh. After Mark died, she had taken the watch from his drawer, and had kept it ever since. It was almost a token of what she did to him, albeit an unconscious one. Stephen used to call it her 'token of strength'.

Scarlett stood up and moved away from the waves, feeling lazy and sluggish and sick. She hadn't felt like that since they'd crashed, though she had felt pretty sick the day before.

When she reached her stuff, and plopped down and rested her head back against the pillow. Boone's pillow was right beside her, and she smiled to herself as she thought of the night before, when he had curled up next to her…

"Hey."

Scarlett looked up to see Shannon watching her with a small, wary smile.

"Hey," she said happily in return, glad to have someone to talk to. "What's up?"

"I was really bored of sitting around and talking to Stephanie, so I took off and came to find you. I figure it's the last place that she'll go."

She gave Scarlett a look, and Scarlett laughed.

"She told you about this morning, huh?" she asked. Shannon laughed and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "But I already asked Boone about it earlier. He explained. Somehow, I'm not surprised. That's a very…Boone thing to do."

Scarlett smiled.

"Well, I saw you and Sayid getting pretty cozy a few hours ago," she remarked casually. "I saw that he got you a nice gift."

Shannon laughed, and Scarlett was surprised to see her cheeks blushing a faint pink.

"Yeah," she said, her voice lowered to a girlish whisper. "He did. Though I don't know when I'm going to wear them…"

"A special occasion?" Scarlett asked with a small smile.

"Yeah," Shannon said with a laugh. "When one of those comes along."

"One will," Scarlett laughed. "Eventually."

"Yeah, we'll be stuck on this goddamned island for so long that people will start getting married and having babies!"

The two of them shared a laugh.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "And you can wear those shoes to your own wedding!"

Shannon grinned.

"Hey," she said. "You never know. You and Boone might beat us to it."

Scarlett playfully hit the other woman on the arm.

"Not you too," she said. "If I remember correctly, we talked about Boone and I a few weeks ago, and you were quite happy that we were just friends."

"Yeah, well, that was a few weeks ago," Shannon said pointedly. "Now, it's just so sickeningly adorable that the two of you _have _to hook up before you burst!"

"We're _friends_," Scarlett said slowly, driving the point home. "Nothing else!"

"Well you should be something else," Shannon said. "Everyone thinks so."

"Everyone?" Scarlett asked skeptically. "Well, everyone can go to hell, because neither me or Boone thinks that there's going to be anything anytime soon!"

"How do you know that Boone feels that way?" Shannon asked with a mischievous grin. Scarlett froze for a moment before recovering quickly.

"Because he's told me so," she said casually. "Many times."

"As you were sleeping so close that the only way you can tell you're not sleeping _together_ is from the air?" Shannon asked, eyebrows rising. Scarlett grinned despite herself.

"No," she said. "But really, we're just friends."

"Okay," Shannon said with a shrug, standing up slowly. "Whatever you say. I'm going to go to the caves to get some water. Want to come?"

"Sure," Scarlett said, shrugging. "There's nothing better to do."

"You've got that right," Shannon said with a small snort. Scarlett stood up as well and grabbed her empty water bottle, along with an extra that she and Boone sometimes shared when there wasn't enough water in the tarp. Then, she grabbed the shampoo bottle too and put them all in her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

Then, the two of them started off towards the caves.

* * *

They got there a little while later. Scarlett was tired and was starting to feel slightly dizzy from the pounding of her headache. Shannon noticed.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett lied.

"No you're not," Shannon said immediately. Scarlett smiled. Apparently, Shannon possessed Boone's quality of being able to determine when she was lying about her health. "What's wrong?"

"I've just been having these really bad headaches lately," Scarlett said with an innocent shrug. "Nothing bad, don't worry. Your brother's been sneaking me Motrin."

Shannon grinned at that.

"I'm surprised he hasn't dragged you to Jack yet," she said with a laugh.

"He said he'd give it one more day," Scarlett replied, smiling. Shannon laughed again.

"That is _so _like him," she said, almost wistfully. Then, she shook her head. "Whatever. You know, Jack's here now if you want to talk to him or something."

"No, I'm fine," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Jack would just make a big deal out of it."

"Okay…you sure?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, nodding. "I'm sure."

Shannon smiled and they both moved towards the water.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Shannon had managed to find Sayid, and the two of them were chatting pleasantly. Scarlett sat down by the waterfall and stared off into space, thinking about stuff. Lots of stuff.

"Hey, Scarlett," said Jeff as he sat beside her.

"Hi," Scarlett said, smiling at him. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah," Jeff said with a small laugh. "Too lazy to go down to the beach, you know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, grinning. She almost sighed, but then bit it back at the last moment. It wasn't his fault that he turned out not to be the J.T. in the letter. Boone had even asked him one day if he knew anyone named Carol Anderson. He had just looked at Boone blankly and responded with a 'no…why?'. After that, Boone had managed to get the manifest from Jack, and he had reported that there were several other J.T.s on the plane, but none of them had survived.

"So how have you been?" Jeff asked conversationally.

"Good," Scarlett said, figuring that a harmless white lie would be better than explaining the whole thing to him. "It's getting pretty cozy down at the beach. People are starting to gather wood to make shelters."

"Really?" Jeff asked, grinning. "Wow, up here, we're still just sleeping on blankets."

Scarlett laughed.

"Well, I am too," she said. "I've been too lazy lately to get a shelter going. But I plan on doing it eventually."

Jeff nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I bet eventually we'll have some sort of houses around here, you know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, trying not to think about the little fantasy that Claire had imagined that night that she had gotten attacked. She had imagined living in her own little section of the caves, with Scarlett and Boone living next to her, and Charlie living on the other side. Scarlett sighed heavily. "That should be cool."

"Hey, don't worry," Jeff said, seeming to immediately know what she was so upset about. "Claire's gonna be fine, okay?"

"How did you know I was thinking about her?" Scarlett asked sadly, but with a small smile.

"Because what else would you be thinking about?" Jeff asked pointedly. "You get that look in your eyes every time you talk about her."

Scarlett glanced at him with a small grin, slightly uneasy that he would know about the look in her eyes when she talked about Claire, when she hadn't spoken to him since Claire vanished.

"Guess I'm easy to read, then, huh?" she asked with a small smile. Jeff nodded and grinned.

"Yeah," he said. "You really are."

He had lowered his voice slightly. Scarlett was beginning to get distinctly creeped out. She was about to stand up and go find Shannon, when suddenly Eddie appeared, waving.

"Hey," he said to her. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a laugh that held a little bit of relief. "You still down at the beach? I haven't seen you lately."

"I've been spending most of my time up here," Eddie replied genially, running a hand through his jet-black hair. "But at night I head back to the beach. It feels safer there."

"I know what you mean," Scarlett said with a small smile. "It really does feel safer. Probably because there are more people."

"And you can _see_ things," Eddie said with a laugh. "There's only dark and scary woods on one side of you, not _four_ like up here."

"Yeah…" Jeff put in. "It does get a little bit creepy here at night sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Eddie asked, laughing. "Man, it's _always _creepy here at night."

Scarlett and Jeff both laughed, and the three of them continued their conversation long into the afternoon.

* * *

_"Why do you play softball?" Stephen asked as they sat outside in his front yard, on the swing that faced the street._

_"What?" Scarlett asked with a small laugh. _

_"Why do you play softball?" Stephen asked again. He was twenty-two, and she was eighteen. The age difference had never seemed so odd. It was barely two years after her mother's death, and she and Stephen were slowly helping each other get over it, a little at a time. _

_"I like playing softball," Scarlett said. "It helps."_

_"With what?" Stephen asked sourly. _

_"With mom," Scarlett replied quietly. Stephen laughed incredulously. _

_"Yeah, okay," he said sarcastically. Then, he turned to look at her. "I don't think you should play anymore."_

_Scarlett gave him a shocked glance. She almost said 'okay', like she always did, but then she stopped. She thought about Carrie and Dan, and their daughter Natalie, all sitting behind the fence, cheering her on. She thought about playing first base, with Carol at second, and Sarah pitching, and Abby and Joan and Melissa and Renee…how could she leave that? How could she disappoint everyone like that? It was her last year of being able to play, and she wasn't going to quit it for anyone. _

_"I have only a year left," she said with surprising confidence. "I'm not going to just leave on my last year!"_

_"Why not?" Stephen asked with something like a sneer. _

_"Because I don't want to," Scarlett said with just the right amount of force. Stephen glared at her, and she glared back, knowing that this was one thing that she wasn't going to back down from. When he looked away, Scarlett felt like she had won some sort of victory, and she smiled to herself, while Stephen stormed into the house.

* * *

_

It was completely dark by the time Eddie decided to head back to the beach.

"You wanna come too?" he asked. Scarlett politely declined. She wanted to wait for Shannon so they could talk about Sayid on the way back.

"I'll see you later," she said to him. He waved and made his way along the path, soon out of reach of the meager light that the flames provided. Jeff smiled and said something about water, getting up and moving over to the waterfall, where he started talking to John. Scarlett sat by the edge of the trees and watched Shannon flirt with Sayid.

"Scarlett?"

Scarlett glanced up and smiled as she saw Jack, trying to pretend like this was just a casual encounter. Scarlett wasn't stupid. She knew that all of her friends on the island were trying (unsuccessfully) to get her mind off of Claire. Though Jack certainly wasn't a _friend_, it wasn't all that surprising that he wanted to be in on the action of distracting her. After all, the man certainly seemed to enjoy having a hand in everything. Why would this be any different?

"Hey, Jack," she said with a small smile, moving over on the log so he could sit down too. "What's up?"

"I was just walking around and decided to come and see how you've been doing," Jack said innocently, taking a seat beside her. Scarlett glared over towards Shannon. She wasn't sure if the other girl had anything to do with Jack's sudden concern for her well being, but she would have to bet that she was probably involved.

"Oh, thanks," she said with a falsely grateful smile. "I'm fine, but thanks for…uh…asking."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. "Because I…um…overheard Shannon saying that you've been having headaches lately.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I've been getting them for the past three or four days maybe. It's nothing big though. They seem to be going away. They're probably from the stress, you know…with Claire being gone, I've been worrying a lot."

"Yeah," Jack said quickly. "I'm sure it's fine. A lot of people have been complaining about headaches recently. I've been thinking that maybe the air has something to do with it, but I'm not positive."

"The air?" Scarlett asked. "Yeah, I guess that could do it."

"Yeah," Jack said. He shrugged. "Well, tell me if things get any worse, okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I will."

Jack looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. He just nodded and sat there for a while before smiling and standing up.

"Well," he said. "I'll talk to you later,"

"Yeah," she replied with a small grin. "Bye, Jack."

"Bye," Jack said. As soon as he had turned around and was on his way back to the other side of the caves, Scarlett stopped smiling and looked back down at the ground, biting her lip. She wondered if Shannon was almost done, because it was really starting to get dark, and she was starting to worry. She didn't want to walk back to the beach in the dark. With Boone with her, at least she felt somewhat protected. With Shannon she'd feel like she was the one expected to do the protecting.

She sighed and stood up, deciding to go talk to Shannon about when they were planning on heading back, not noticing Locke sitting alone by the fire.

* * *

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway **

_(Boone stumbles out of the woods. He spots Locke. Cut to him running towards Locke. Cut to him holding a knife over Locke's head, with Locke grabbing his wrist and preventing him from stabbing down.)_

**Boone: **That thing killed my sister! It's all your fault! You dragged her out there!

**Locke: **_(Confused) _Your sister?

(He points, and Boone looks. Show Shannon and Sayid talking. He gasps. Cut to him sitting on the ground.)

**Boone: **What the hell just happened to me out there?

_(Cut to Scarlett watching them quietly from a distance.)_

**Locke: **Time to let go…there are better things that you could be doing…besides looking out for your sister.

_(He gives Boone a pointed look.)_


	42. Hearts And Minds Part 3

Oooooookay! Here we go!

Sorry about the delay. My laptop spazzed out and deleted three chapters of my Red Eye fic, so I've been rushing to write that. Bleehhhh!

Did anyone else die of fear at last night's episode with the whole shark thing? Dammit, that thing was SCARY! I hate sharks, so I was sitting there clutching a pillow and going "no! No, go away!" hahaha

The last shot was really scary too. I had a nightmare about it. I'm not even kidding! Hahaha!

Thanks for the reviews! Pleeeeassseee review again!

**Msmith4815: **Hahaha, no, Shannon probably isn't that nice. She was just in a good mood that day with Sayid and everything. Don't worry, she'll be a bitch soon enough! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Haha, no, Boone's not dead, don't worry. He's still got a ways to go before he's in trouble ;). Thanks for reviewing!

**Izzy: **My literary arts magazine director called her the wrong name yesterday! I was like "I'm not the only one!" Hahaha, I was so excited. Awwww, you didn't get to see it? That's sooooo evil! You can download them online though! That's always a fun time! Hahaha. What happened….hmmm, well, do you reaaallllyyy wanna know? Hahaha. I don't wanna give it away if you aren't totally sure :)  
I got to watch it because I TiVoed it at my house when I was in Florida, so it was saved when I got back. Ah, the wonders of my father's obsession with three tv shows that are on at the same time. :D And I reap the benefits ;)  
Thanks for the review!

**Paige03: **Thanks for the wishes on my sister :) She's better now, though there are still some bumps on her arm from it. She didn't want to tell anyone at school except this one friend Steph…but by the time we got back it was all around school. Steph can't keep her mouth shut, hahaha!  
I hope you feel better :(! Colds suck majorly! Everyone at my school is sick now. I'm afraid to hug anyone cus I know I'm next!  
Yeah, it was about time for Scarlett to open up to someone about all the stuff that went on. (And that was a lot!)  
Hahaha, you never know…Eddie is a very attractive individual ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **Hahaha, thanks to the contribution to the 500! It is greatly, _greatly _appreciated!

**Dark Syrinx: **Omg, I close the box by accident ALL THE TIME. It's sooooo annoying!  
Haha, Locke is most definitely a stupid butthead! He needs to go away right now! There's a little something in the chapter for you regarding character building and your ass. Hope you like it :)  
Awww, I think I actually like Desmond now, even though he creeped me out in the first episode. He seems like a cool guy…and he's got that sick accent! You can't go wrong there!  
I hope Scarlett can move on too ;) Then again, maybe I have something else up my sleeve. Hehehe! Oh, I have many things up my sleeve. Teehee!  
My friends always tell me I should be a shrink because I deal with all my suicidal/depressed friends all the time. Anyone who's friends with some of the friends I have should be shrinks! We've gotten pretty good at it!  
Haha, I think you scared Scarlett with your yelling at her! Though maybe she'll take your advice about Boone into consideration. Then again…maybe she'll just think you're wacked :)  
Shannon's gotten better, yeah. I think I would like her more if she hadn't gotten over Boone's death at all. I really don't like she and Sayid. They bother me!  
Hahaha, yup, that would be Jeff hitting on her. That comes back in there later. Oh yes, it does ;)

Thanks for reviewing!

**TotallyLost: **Haha, actually, last chapter when I was reviewing reviews, I was like 'huh…where's TotallyLost?' and now you're back! Yay! Thanks for taking the time to review :)

**Winged Seraph: **Thanks for the encouragement! And the review!

**Tawney: **Yay! Awwww, thanks for taking the time to read my fic :D!  
I'm so glad you like Scarlett. That's what I try to do; make a character that the readers will like and relate to.  
Mmmmm, Sawyer! Hey, Sawyer's going to get some romance no matter if it's from Scarlett or Kate. I promise you :)  
Hahaha, from one spoiler junkie to another…you can download episodes offline at live journal. Just search the community 'lost-eps'. It's how I get all of mine :)

Scarlett's episode is coming soon! Thanks for the review!

**JamesPovey: **Thanks so much for the compliments! And yes, I'm still giving Scarlett her own episode. In fact, it's next! I call it episode 13.5, Away From Me! Hahaha! Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Hearts and Minds (3): **Let Go

Boone trudged through the trees slowly, exhausted to the point of collapsing, and driven only by anger and grief. He had just spent the entire day in the forest, running from that thing…and Shannon was dead. Shannon was dead because of Locke. It was all his fault.

He heard people talking and trudged in that direction, surprisingly feeling no excitement that he had managed to find his way back to the caves without anyone's help. What did it matter when Shannon was dead? What did _anything_ matter?

He emerged from the trees to see that his target was sitting across the cave floor, close enough so that he could run the distance separating them and tackle him before the other man had a chance to react. Without thinking things further, Boone sprinted.

He growled under his breath, relishing the surprised fear on Locke's face as he effortlessly shoved him to the ground.

"It killed her!" he yelled, and he ripped the knife out of its sheath before Locke had a chance to reply. However, Locke stood up and knocked Boone to the ground, pinning him. Boone just rolled over on top of Locke and slammed the knife down, not surprised when Locke's hand grabbed his wrist, preventing him from stabbing his adversary in the face.

"You made it back," Locke stated with eerie calm.

"That thing killed my sister," Boone hissed. "It's your fault! You dragged her out there!"

"Your sister?" Locke asked with apparent confusion, and for a horrifying moment, Boone thought that maybe Locke knew about his secret; about he and Shannon not being blood related.

"Don't play dumb with me," he said furiously, forcing himself to not cry.

"Calm down," Locke said shortly.

"She died in my arms!" Boone exclaimed, trying to stab Locke again. The old man's hand held his wrist firmly in place, however.

"Why is there no blood on you?" he asked with a calmness that should not have been coming from a man that was an inch away from a knife piercing his eyeball. Boone looked down, puzzled, and saw that Locke was right. Though he distinctly remembered pulling Shannon's blood-covered body to his chest, there was no red staining the front of his shirt now. He stared at it in shock. Locke grabbed the front of his shirt.

"What the hell just happened to me out there?" Boone asked, fear and panic coursing through his veins.

"I don't know," Locke said, sounding awed. "I don't know. You tell me." With that, he pushed Boone off of him, and the knife clattered to the ground beside the younger man, unnoticed. Boone stared at him, his chest heaving and his eyes wide with fear. "But your sister? Shannon?" Locke pointed to his left.

Boone looked, and there was Shannon, standing by the waterfall, talking to Sayid as she held a water bottle in her hands. He stared at her, his mouth working and trying to form words, but only managing to open and close soundlessly. He could only watch as Shannon threw her head back and laughed, bending down and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Then Sayid bent down beside her, smiling as well. Boone blinked and looked away, his eyes filling with tears.

"She was dead," he said quietly. If Scarlett could have seen him then, she would have noticed that the resemblance to a dog would have been remarkable.

"Is that what it made you see?" Locke asked with a hungry fervor that frightened Boone more than anything that had happened that day.

"What made me see?" Boone asked, slightly afraid of the answer. Then he remembered Locke smearing something on the on the back of his head. "That stuff you put on my head." He paused. "You drugged me?"

Locke shook his head and held up a hand.

"I gave you an experience that I believed was vital to your survival on this island," he said. Boone stared at him, then glanced at Shannon.

"It wasn't real?" he asked.

"It was only as real as you made it," Locke replied softly. Boone glanced at Shannon again.

"I saw her…I saw her die," he whispered, finding that he was losing his battle with the tears that threatened to fall.

"How did you feel? When she died?" Locke asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"I felt…" Boone stammered. "I felt…I felt relieved." The realization hit him, and he repeated his words. "I felt relieved."

Locke nodded, smiling and looking eerily proud of Boone's words.

"Yes," he said. "Time to let go."

Boone looked over at Shannon regretfully. Locke glanced around and saw Scarlett, oblivious to their presence, lounging with her back against a tree. He stood up and started to walk towards her.

"Where are you going?" Boone asked. Locke stopped and turned around.

"There are better things on this island that you could be doing," he replied. "Besides looking out for your sister. You need to start considering the possibility that just maybe there's someone out here who better deserves your attentions."

"Like who?" Boone asked sullenly. He looked back towards Shannon, expecting to feel that usual stab of jealousy as she smiled at something that Sayid said. But instead…he just felt…nothing. No emotion. He was just looking at his sister. His _sister_. Nothing else.

"You're letting go," Locke said with conviction. "You need to find someone else to fill the void. And you might find that it's a lot easier than you think."

"I don't…" Boone began, but suddenly he heard a gasp of surprise from behind him, and turned to see Scarlett standing up from her place beneath the tree.

"Boone!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God, what happened to your head?"

She crossed the cave floor quickly and kneeled down next to Boone, pulling his head one way gently so she could look at the cut.

"I…uh…fell," Boone stammered, not sure what to say. Locke smiled and nodded.

"I just heard from Shannon that you were off in the woods by yourself!" Scarlett exclaimed accusatorily. She shot Locke an angry look. "Character building, my ass! You might want to try something a little safer than leaving him alone in the woods for half a day!"

"He's fine," Locke said, patting the other man on the shoulder. Scarlett shook her head and peered at Boone's head again.

"What's this stuff all over his cut?" she asked. "It looks like…sap?"

"Just something I did to help with the cut," Locke said casually. "How's your headache, Scarlett?"

"Fine," Scarlett said distractedly. "Thanks. Do you want to go to Jack, Boone?"

Boone grinned slightly.

"You sound like me," he said. Scarlett grinned.

"Well you've got blood pouring out of your skull. That's a little bit more pressing than a freaking headache."

She shook her head and held up her hands to Boone's face, showing the blood on them.

"I'm fine," he laughed. "Or, I will be. It's nothing too bad."

"Are you sure?" Scarlett asked reluctantly.

"Yeah," Boone said.

"We should probably go, Boone. I've got something I want to show you," Locke said suddenly. He held out a hand to help him up. Scarlett stood up as well.

"It's pitch black," she said. "And Boone's hurt. There's no way you're going into the woods _now_!"

"We'll just be a few minutes," Locke said vaguely. Scarlett sighed and threw her hands up.

"I don't know why I bother," she said, shaking her head. "Well, all right…but be careful, okay?"

"Yeah," Boone said, smiling. "I'll see you when I get back."

"Yeah," Scarlett muttered sourly. "If Shannon ever decides to walk back with me."

Boone smiled at her.

"Don't worry," he said innocently, before turning and walking after Locke into the trees. Scarlett watched that spot until she couldn't hear the crackling of the leaves under their feet, and then turned and walked back towards Shannon.

* * *

Scarlett ended up walking back to the beach alone a few minutes later. Shannon wasn't showing any sign of tearing herself away from Sayid anytime soon, and Scarlett didn't feel like approaching her to ask. So she just started back, admittedly feeling slightly grumpy.

She made it to the beach about 20 minutes later, paranoid and scared out of her mind, breathing heavily and turning to look over her shoulder every few feet. She felt like the biggest idiot in the world, especially when she saw the comforting fires that burned through the trees. Of course, it was at that moment that she tripped.

She landed on her hands and knees, swearing loudly under her breath as the pain shot through her body. Her ankle, which had almost completely ceased paining her, flared up again, and she hissed in pain when she tried to stand.

"Great," she muttered under her breath. "Fucking great."

She used a nearby tree to pull herself into a standing position, and she gingerly started towards the fires. After about a step, her ankle buckled, and she tumbled to the ground again. She growled and stood up yet again, picking up her water bottle, which had fell from her hand. Then, she made her way towards the flames again, this time managing to limp her way out of the trees and onto the open beach without falling.

She slowly made her way over to her stuff and lowered herself down, thankful that there was a fire nearby that was lit so she could see the full damage of her little tumble.

Her jeans were ripped, and the knees beneath them were dirty and bleeding. Her hands were also pretty badly torn up. That, coupled with her ankle, was enough to make her growl with frustration. She did _not _want to spend another day sitting around the beach and waiting for Boone to get back.

She sighed and grabbed one of the water bottles that she had filled up, rummaging in her suitcase before she found the white t-shirt that she was looking for. It was one of Kevin's, which he had left in her apartment one night and never took back, so she didn't regret using it to wipe up the blood on her knees and hands.

She poured some water on the shirt and gingerly went about cleaning her cut knee. Though it stung, it wasn't too bad, and she managed to clean off both knees with very little trouble. Then, she started on her hands, rubbing it gently to get the dirt away without hurting the damaged skin. She was almost done when a voice came out of the darkness.

"What happened?"

Scarlett jumped with surprise and whirled around to face Boone, who was looking down at her with concern. When he saw her hands, he winced.

"I…fell," Scarlett said with some embarrassment.

"Where?" Boone asked, wincing as he saw her knees, too.

"Coming back from the caves," Scarlett said, hanging her head slightly. "I was walking a little fast, and I tripped."

"Why were you walking fast?" Boone asked conversationally, casually taking the bottle and shirt away from Scarlett and kneeling beside her.

"Because I was scared," Scarlett admitted, smiling up at him slightly. He took one of her hands and gently started to clean away the blood. He glanced at her.

"Why wasn't Shannon with you?" he asked.

"She was with Sayid," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I didn't want to bother her, so I just walked back by myself."

"You shouldn't be walking by yourself," Boone said, feeling a small stab of guilt. If he hadn't gone into the forest with Locke, then she never would have gotten hurt. Of course, going into the forest had turned out to be a good thing, because it gave him the idea that he was currently working on. "It's dangerous out there."

"Yeah, that's why I was walking fast," Scarlett replied with a small laugh. Boone smiled sadly.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said as he cleared the last of the dirt away. "Anywhere else need help?"

"I think I twisted my ankle again," Scarlett said, turning bright red, though Boone couldn't see it in the dark.

"Are you okay?" He asked immediately. "Does it hurt now?"

"Only when I move it," Scarlett reassured him. He nodded, biting his lip.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Um…well, there's not really anything we can do about it, huh?"

He seemed let down that he couldn't help her.

"No," Scarlett agreed. "There isn't. But thanks for helping me wash the dirt off."

"No problem," Boone said, shrugging. He put the shirt down. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Tired, though."

"Me too," Boone said quickly. "You gonna go to sleep?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said.

"Me too," Boone agreed. "Good night, Scarlett."

"Good night, Boone," Scarlett replied, smiling to herself. She laid down on the sand and pulled the blanket over herself, closing her eyes slowly.

* * *

_She was standing on the beach, twirling around in an endless dance as the long, flowing dress swirled around her ankles. The sand felt softer than usual beneath her bare feet, and she bent down to gather some in her hands, letting it slip through her fingers slowly. _

_She looked down at the dress she was wearing. The corset-like bodice was white with black laces, and the two tiny black sleeves started halfway down the upper part of her arm and extended about an inch down, exposing her shoulders and upper chest. The trim of the bodice was also black, and her skirt (extending out in front of her a bit) were lacy and billowy, and were white and black and torn at the bottom. She smiled to herself and twirled again, dancing to the beautiful music that softly floated through the air. _

_Suddenly strong hands grabbed her elbows, and she found her body pressed up against his. His hands slid down her bare arms and his fingers entwined with hers. She looked up at his eyes through the curls that framed her face. _

_"Boone?" she said gently. _

_"Yeah," he whispered in reply, one hand moving down to her waist. He was wearing old fashioned clothes, like her. They danced past Jack and Kate, who seemed to be arguing. The fuselage burned nearby, and pieces of debris were strewn all over the beach. Scarlett ignored it all and laid her head on Boone's chest lovingly, one arm circling his neck. They twirled around, and he dipped her down low, until her hair was grazing the sand. Shannon and Sayid danced by serenely. Boone glanced in their direction, and then looked back at Scarlett, pulling her up and spinning her away from him._

_She found herself standing in front of Claire. The other girl wasn't pregnant, and she was looking lost. Scarlett took a step towards her, reaching out a hand, but then she was snatched away. When she looked up to see who had grabbed her, she saw that it was Sawyer. _

_"Sawyer…" she began, but he held a finger to her lips and twirled her off again, leaving her spinning in the sand dizzyingly. Fortunately, Boone came to her rescue and grabbed her arms again, steadying her and pulling her close to him. His arms engulfed her, and they swayed to the music gently. She laid her head on his chest, and let him take her where he wanted to. She had never felt safer in someone's arms than she did with Boone at that moment, and she let the peaceful feeling wash over her…_

_Then there was a flash of lightning, and the wind began to blow all around them. She opened her eyes to see that Locke and Walt were staring out at the ocean with haunted expressions. Scarlett looked where they were staring and saw that there was a huge thundercloud moving their way. Then, she heard a gunshot, followed by screams. She whirled around, and found that everyone else was doing the same thing. She turned to Boone, and he looked down at her fearfully. _

_"Run," he said to her. "Run to the caves, and don't look back. Whatever happens…don't look back."_

_"You have to come with me," Scarlett sobbed. "Please, Boone."_

_Boone nodded, and he took her arm, but suddenly everything went completely dark, and the wind howled all around them. Scarlett screamed and clutched Boone tight, afraid to let him go, lest he be snatched away. A lightning flash revealed that Claire was standing alone on the beach, her hair and dress flying around her eerily. Another flash, and Claire was gone. Scarlett buried her face in Boone's chest and sobbed as the storm went on. And then…there was nothing in her arms anymore, and far off, she heard Boone yelling. **

* * *

**_

**Next time on: Just Another Castaway **

Scarlett's episode:) 'Tis a surprise.


	43. Away From Me Part 1

Finally, I have the time to update!

Well…actually I don't cus my computer's going to die in like…three minutes…but…ahhh!

Thanks sooooo much for reviewing, everyone! Pleaseeee review again! Remember, 500 is my goal! Hahaha!

**Winged Seraph: **Haha, the jumping will occur in….hehe nope, not telling you :) Just keep on reading and reviewing, and you'll find out! Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

**sUmMeRiTh: **Awwww! Thanks so much! I'm sorry I made you cry, lol. That part on the show admittedly makes me cry when I watch it, cus I always feel so bad for him :( He's such a sweet guy! Thanks sooo much for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Stupid scary dreams! Hehe I like writing them too, though. It's fun to think up stuff and symbolism and such. I did indeed watch Lost…last week, haha. I watched it think week too, though. I must say…I actually felt bad for Locke! Thanks for the review!

**Tawney: **Ugh, dial-up! That's gross! Hahaha, I have my problems with dial-up…many of them, lol. You could always download them at a friend's house and burn them to CD's. That _may _work, hahaha.  
Sharks are scary. I hate them! I'm sure you already found out by now though. :) And Sawyer does indeed deserve some romance! They'd better give him some on the show, too. Cus if they don't…I'll be very mad!  
Thanks for the review!

**JamesPovey: **Hehe, I'm excited too! I'm glad you like the title! It took me a while to think up! Haha! I considered doing it after Claire came back, but then I thought about it a bunch and decided that now was the opportune moment! Hehe. Oh, yeah, I meant to do the UK Promo thing. That's such a cool promo, so I decided to throw it in here, haha. And I most definitely have not forgotten about J.T. The letter's taken a back seat at the moment, but it'll come back into play later on. It's an as yet unsolved mystery of the island! Thanks for reviewing!

**LetItBe: **Yay! A new reviewer! I love new reviewers! Hehehe. I can't tell you if I'm going to kill off Boone, only that I'm not looking forward to writing the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **Yeah! It was the UK promo, hahaha. Cus we all know how obsessed with that thing I am! And in my head, her dressed was SOO pretty, lol. I just pictured it and was like 'oooo, pretty!' Haha, thanks for the review!

**Paige: **Haha, I'm glad too! As much as I love Shoone, in my story I just want him to get over her. Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

**LillyAngel: **Really? It had that symbol? That's sweet! I'm gonna have to watch that again! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dark Syrinx: **Haha, I read your "character building my ass" line, and thought it would be perfect for Scarlett to say. It was a good one!  
Haha, your dream sounds VERY weird. Shooting rodents with a laser…sounds fun! Haha!  
I hated the shark too! And I agree, Michael was being very whiny. I wanted him to stop, lol. Poor Sawyer had gotten shot, and he was sitting there whining his ass off and making Sawyer do all the work. Grrrr! Haha, thanks for the review!

**TotallyLost: **Hehe, yay! I've won you over! YESSSSS! Haha, thanks for the review!

**PinayAko: **Score! Another new reviewer! Yes! I'm glad you like Scarlett! That's my goal! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Away From Me (1): **The Bet

Scarlett awoke the next morning a little later than usual (at nine o'clock), and found that Boone and Locke were already off on their little 'hunting' adventure. She sighed and sat up slowly, looking around and seeing Sawyer and Kate talking by Kate's shelter. She smiled to herself and glanced in the other direction, happy to see Shannon and Sayid walking together and laughing. Then, she spotted Charlie. He normally would have been with Claire, especially on a day when the various romances seemed to be in full swing, but he was sitting completely alone.

She stood up unsteadily, surprised when her ankle didn't bother her nearly as much as it had the night before. She found herself walking somewhat normally, with only a small limp, towards her friend. She hadn't spoken to him in so long…she couldn't even remember the last time she had _seen _him.

"Hey…Charlie?" she called out uneasily, walking towards him. He looked up and offered her a small smile.

"Hey," he replied, giving a little half-wave that was very characteristic of him. He noticed her limp and frowned at her worriedly. "What's wrong with your ankle?"

"I fell last night on the way back to the beach," Scarlett said abashedly, sitting beside Charlie in the sand. Charlie laughed.

"Nice job," he said. He smiled at her, but Scarlett didn't miss the hint of sadness in his eyes. "How've you been holding up? You know, with the whole…Claire thing."

"All right, I guess," Scarlett said, though it wasn't all that convincing. Charlie smirked humorlessly and nodded.

"Same here," he said. "I've been trying to tell myself that we only knew each other for a few weeks, and that I'll get over it in time, you know? But it's not working. I fell like I've lost a part of myself since she's been gone."

Scarlett nodded sadly.

"I know what you mean," she whispered. "I've been feeling it too. It's like…every day that she's gone, it feels like she takes part of me with her, and then I'm less of myself in the morning."

"That's exactly how I feel," Charlie agreed with a small amount of depressed excitement. "I tried to write a song for her the other day, but I couldn't get anything out. I just…I couldn't think of the right words to describe her."

Scarlett smiled sadly at him.

"Before she was kidnapped…I sang her a song," she said sadly. "Since she's been gone, I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

"What song would that be?" Charlie asked. Scarlett told him. He claimed that he didn't know it, so Scarlett sang it for him.

As soon as she opened her mouth, Charlie knew that she'd have an amazing voice. He just wasn't prepared for howgood it really was. He was expecting decent, sort of like his own, but later he would tell everyone that he thought an angel was singing to him that day.

When she was finished with the first verse of the song, she stopped. Charlie gazed at her with wonder.

"Where'd you learn to sing like that?" he asked incredulously. "You're incredible!"

"My mother taught me," Scarlett said with evident sadness. "She was an amazing singer, and she always used to sing in the church choirs. When I was old enough, she wanted me to sing in them too, so she trained me."

"God, why haven't you tried to get a record contract or something?" he asked. "You'd just have to sing one song, and they'd take you!"

Scarlett shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "It just never seemed like something that I'd want to do."

"But you're _amazing_," Charlie stressed. She laughed.

"Thanks," she said, blushing. She looked sad, Charlie noticed..

"I'm telling you, when we get rescued…you gotta try something. You gotta make an album or something. Promise?"

"Okay," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes slightly. "_If _we get rescued, I'll make an album."

"You have to promise!" Charlie exclaimed, looking absolutely thrilled at the prospect. "Promise me that you'll make an album if and when we're rescued."

"I promise," Scarlett laughed. "If I can manage to find a record deal and that stuff."

"Are you _kidding_?" Charlie asked. "You just have to sing one _note _and you'd be in! Trust me on this one!"

"All right," Scarlett said, shaking her head and laughing. "Though may I remind you that rescue isn't looking too good right now?"

"It'll happen," Charlie said with amazing faith. "Trust me. It'll happen."

Scarlett smiled.

"We can only hope," she said with some inward sarcasm that Charlie didn't pick up on. She turned and faced the ocean again, sighing. Charlie sighed as well. It didn't take much brainpower to know that they were both thinking about Claire.

* * *

_Scarlett yawned and stretched as she heard the phone ringing in the other room. She had fallen asleep on the couch, watching TV again, and it was pitch black outside. The only light from in the house was the tiny one that her mother always forgot to shut off over the stove. Scarlett smiled to herself and turned on the light next to the couch, sitting up and looking around. _

_There was a note on the front door. Scarlett walked over to it and pulled it off. Then, she headed back to the couch where there was enough light to read it. Outside, she heard the dim pattering of rain against the windows._

Scarlett, _the note read_, I walked over to see how Aunt Mary's doing. She called a few hours ago, upset.

_Scarlett realized that she still hadn't answered the phone and walked into the other room and pulled the receiver off the wall._

"_Hello?" she mumbled tiredly. _

_"Scarlett?"_

_"Yeah," Scarlett responded, smiling as Stephen's voice reached her ears. "What's up? It's a little late to be calling, isn't it?"_

_She glanced at the clock to confirm, and saw that it was ten thirty. Definitely later than he usually called. _

_"Yeah…sorry. It's just that my mom's been acting… weird. I was wondering…if you weren't doing anything…"_

_"Do you want to come over?" Scarlett asked, smiling sadly. _

_"Okay," Stephen said, sounding surprised. "Are you sure your mom won't mind?"_

_"Stephen, my mom loves you," Scarlett said with a small laugh. "She won't care."_

_"All right," Stephen said, sounding relieved. "I'll be over in a few minutes."_

_"Okay," Scarlett said, smiling to herself. "Bye."_

_"Bye. Love you."_

_"Love you too."_

_Scarlett hung up the phone and jumped to her feet, the note falling to the floor, forgotten. She was wearing shorts and a tank top; not clothes that she wanted Stephen to see her in. _

_She hurried down the hall to her room and pulled out jeans and a pink Red Sox tank top, hurriedly throwing them on and brushing her hair before going out to the door to wait for Stephen.

* * *

_

Scarlett and Charlie separated after a half hour of conversation. Charlie had to go find Jack for something, and Scarlett wanted to go take some more pictures for Claire's notebook. Only there didn't seem to be much going on with the castaways. She snapped a photo of Shannon and Sayid, and then one of Sawyer and Kate. She looked around for something interesting that might happen, but there didn't seem to be anything worth recording. Everyone was relaxing. It was strange, certainly, but it didn't seem like something worth taking a picture of.

Then Scarlett spotted Charlie talking to Jack, who apparently had come down to the beach to check up on him. He looked absolutely depressed. Jack seemed like he was trying to make him cheer up, but it didn't appear to be working. Scarlett snapped a picture with a sad smile. Claire would appreciate knowing that Charlie missed her.

"Hey, Sox. Takin' pictures again?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, turning around to face Sawyer, who stood behind her with a cigarette in his mouth. When she glared at him pointedly, he sighed and threw it in the sand.

"Stash is runnin' low, anyway," he muttered. "I figure it won't last much longer than a week, and that's if I don't keep wasting them like this."

"It's better if you quit now," Scarlett said, shrugging. "It would have been better if you quit when we first crashed."

"Hell, I ain't a quitter," Sawyer replied, smirking at her.

"Yeah, sure," Scarlett said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes towards Kate, who was sitting by the ocean. "You two get into another fight?"

"Nah," Sawyer said with a laugh. "She just said that she was gonna go. Probably didn't want the doc to see her hangin' out with the man who she tells him she hates."

"She tells him that she hates you?" Scarlett asked with surprise.

"From what Metro and Steve tell me," Sawyer replied casually, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal. However, Scarlett could tell that, to him, it was a very big deal indeed.

"Well, I'm sure she's just saying that so Jack doesn't come down here and lob your head off with the axe," Scarlett said comfortingly. Sawyer laughed.

"I hope so, Sox, because I've put too much effort into makin' that chick talk to me."

"You could try being a little nicer to her," Scarlett pointed out, trying to hold back a grin. Sawyer noticed and shook his head, his feathery blonde hair flying around comically.

"I'm not very good at being nice," he said sadly.

"You know…" Scarlett began thoughtfully. "Why is that? You've never told me about your past, even though I've told you plenty about mine."

"Why do you want to know so much?" Sawyer asked defensively.

"Because it seems like that's what made you the way you are now," Scarlett replied.

"And how's that?" Sawyer asked, sounding very pissed off.

"Afraid to trust anyone," Scarlett replied, taking a step closer to Sawyer, folding her arms over her chest. "Afraid to show anyone the real you. Hard. Bitter." She looked up at him pointedly. "But still a sweet guy when you want to be."

"Yeah, well, everyone's got their unhappy stories," Sawyer said with a nonchalant shrug. "I ain't any different."

"Can I hear yours?" Scarlett asked. Sawyer smirked a little and thought. Then, after a pause, he nodded.

"Sure, Sox," he said. "Let's have a sit down. I'll tell you."

Scarlett smiled at him radiantly, with some disbelief. The fact that he trusted her enough to tell her something that he apparently hadn't told many people meant a lot to her. She sat down next to him, and then he began.

She listened just like Kate had listened to her, feeling the sadness well up in her heart. Not pity, because she knew that Sawyer wouldn't appreciate pity, but sadness. She felt sadness because of what Sawyer had to go through at such a young age. Though she noticed that he didn't say anything about why he was in Sydney, or about why he took the name of Sawyer as his own.

It seemed that Scarlett and Sawyer had more in common than they had first thought. In fact, there was an even greater coincidence binding them, which neither of them knew, and wouldn't know for a very long time.

* * *

Later on, after Scarlett and Sawyer finished sharing their stories about their pasts, Scarlett wandered down the beach to the rock behind which she had changed her clothes during her first week on the island. She remembered how peaceful it had been, and hoped that it would be as peaceful now. She just wanted to sit somewhere where no one would bother her.

She stretched out on the rock languidly, looking out at the ocean with a content sigh. It was so beautiful out there, even more so than at camp; probably because camp was littered with leftovers from the plane. Random pieces of metal and clumps of fuselage were _not _her idea of eye candy. Out at the rock, however, there was nothing but beautiful, pristine sand, and the clear, sparkling ocean. She could get used to that.

She was only sitting there for a few minutes when she saw Boone walking down the beach towards her. Though she had wanted to be alone before, she suddenly felt like chatting.

"Hey," she said to him as he approached her. He grinned happily.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You mind if I join you?"

He seemed extremely happy. She smiled.

"Not at all," she said, moving over to let him sit beside her. "Is Locke going to murder you for being here?"

"Maybe," Boone replied with a shrug, easing himself up onto the rock next to Scarlett. "He's out gathering wood and stuff. He doesn't know that I came back."

"Why _did _you come back?" Scarlett asked, turning to face him with a smile.

"I wanted a break," Boone replied simply, shrugging. "He told me to stay at the…uh…hatch, and that he'd be gone for a few hours, so I decided that I'd head over here."

"This spot, specifically?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, camp," Boone said. "Then I asked Kate where you were, and she pointed me in this direction. It wasn't that hard to find you after that."

He smiled and looked at her happily. She smiled in return and looked back out at the ocean.

"I'm glad," she said after a while. "It was getting pretty boring out here."

"I bet it was," Boone said with a laugh. "Why weren't you with Kate or…Sawyer."

"I don't know," Scarlett said after a moment. "I just didn't really feel like talking to anyone."

"Oh," Boone said abashedly. "Sorry…"

"No, it's all right," Scarlett said quickly. "You're okay."

"Oh?" Boone said with a smirk.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, thinking quickly to try to explain to him why she only wanted to be around him. "They all try to ignore the fact that Claire's gone, even Charlie. It's starting to bother me and, honestly, it creeps me out. That's kinda why I didn't feel like talking, but you're the only one that doesn't do that."

Boone smiled to himself sadly. He had been trying to avoid the subject of Claire, but it always seemed to come up. He was glad that Scarlett didn't mind, though.

"Well," he said. "She's gone, and I guess it would be a little weird if we all pretended she was here. I mean…we could always get Shannon to wear a beach ball under her shirt or something, but that would just be messed up."

Scarlett grinned, imagining that. Shannon would probably be complaining about it the whole time, too, which amused Scarlett greatly.

"Yeah," she said. "I can picture that."

"Me too," Boone laughed. He shook his head, still smiling, and looked out at the ocean. Then, he sighed. "I guess I'd better be getting back…"

"Hey, do you want me to go with you?" Scarlett asked casually.

"What about your ankle?" Boone asked quickly.

"It's feeling better…" Scarlett began, but Boone cut her off.

"You should rest it," he said, standing up and sliding off the rock. "It's probably not the best idea to be walking through the trees in that condition."

"It's not that bad…" Scarlett began to protest, but Boone shook his head, grinning.

"You say that, but I have a feeling that it's a lot worse than you're making it seem. And, I'd bet anything that you have a headache today, too."

"No," Scarlet lied, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth. Boone noticed and nodded smugly.

"I thought so," he said. "You wanna walk back too? Or are you gonna stay here?"

Though Scarlett never usually passed up an opportunity to walk back with Boone, she decided to just once. She wanted to stay at that rock a little longer.

"I'll stay here for now," she said quietly. "But I'll see you when you get back."

"All right," Boone said, automatically reaching out for a hug. Scarlett smiled and hugged him, trying not to think of that dream where they had danced together, and she had felt so safe…

"Bye, Boone," she said with a small smile. He waved and turned his back, walking back towards the others. She watched him go for a while, and then she turned back to watch the waves.

"Hey Scarlett?"

Scarlett turned to see that Boone had turned around and was squinting at her against the sunlight.

"Yeah?" she asked with a small smile.

"What do you miss most about being at home?"

Scarlett thought for a moment, not all that surprised by the randomness of the question. It wasn't rare for things like that to come up during her talks with Boone. And she found that each time, the answers changed. It went from family, to food, to the simple things like hot water and bubble baths.

"I think I miss sleeping in a warm, soft bed surrounded by pillows," she said after that pause, smiling wistfully. Boone grinned.

"I've been starting to miss that too," he said. "All right, see you later."

"Bye," Scarlett said, grinning and shaking her head. He laughed and turned and kept walking, this time going all the way back to camp.

Scarlett turned and faced the water once again, her mind drifting over various things, never staying in one place for long. She had always had a restless mind; she could never stay focused on one subject for more than a few minutes before her mind became bored and switched to something else. Her friends back home would be talking about someone's boyfriend, and Scarlett's mind would play connect the dots with so many subjects that when she said something about ice cream, it made perfect sense to her, but her friends thought she was crazy.

She smiled to herself. That was one thing that she missed more than anything. Friends. She missed Carol most of all, of course, but she missed Sarah and Amy and Nattie and Dan and Frank and all of her other friends that she had met in Australia. She sighed sadly when she realized that those Australian friends probably thought that she was just falling out of touch, not stranded on a deserted island. Of course, Frank had known that she was going to be on the flight. Maybe he'd tell Amy…

She sighed once again and turned onto her stomach to watch the waves, still thinking. Did Carol know that she was on the flight, or did she assume the worst and just think that Anthony had up and killed her? Of course, she knew that Scarlett and Anthony were leaving for Los Angeles roughly around that time. Maybe she would manage to find out? Carol certainly wasn't someone to take any chances. She'd be checking the list for sure. At least, Scarlett hoped she would…

She closed her eyes and sighed, her mind drifting back to that day when she was sixteen years old, wearing a pink Red Sox tank top and a pair of jeans, standing at the door and waiting for Stephen…

* * *

_Another lightning flash lit up the window, and Scarlett shivered slightly. She had never liked the lightning. Bad stuff always seemed to happen when there was lightning. _

_She saw headlights in the side window and peered out. They were slowing down. That would be Stephen. Scarlett checked her reflection in the hall mirror once more, before deciding that she looked all right, and stood at the door, waiting for him to pull in. _

_Suddenly, she heard a horrible screeching noise, and a high-pitched, womanly scream. She jumped in surprise and reached out for the doorknob, her fingers already beginning to shake. _

_She threw open the door and peered outside into the rain. Stephen's car was half in and half out of the driveway. He was getting out of the car shakily. She couldn't see his face, because it was so dark, but she heard him muttering something under his breath. _

_She ran down the front steps, almost slipping as a result of the rain, which was a lot heavier than she had first thought._

_"Stephen?" she screamed out over the noise of a clap of thunder that suddenly erupted. "Stephen, oh my God, what happened?"_

_Stephen looked up. The rain sliding down his face gave him the appearance of crying._

* * *

Scarlett returned to the other survivors a few hours later, only to find that nothing appeared to have changed at all. Everyone was still relaxing and looking like they were having the time of their lives. She shook her head, smiling slightly, and made her way over to her things. A few people on the other side of the beach were busy making a shelter. Only several people had started doing it, and the shelters that they were building were small and clumsy. Scarlett knew that once they had been there a little longer, people would start focusing more on the long term. A home. She liked the thought of having a home on the island.

As it was, she only had a pile of suitcases at the beach with a towel to sleep on and a blanket to cover herself with, along with a pillow that she fought to keep dry as often as possible to avoid the inevitable invasion of mold. The thought of building a shelter was very far off, but she knew that she'd do it eventually. Unless, of course, they got rescued before she got the chance, but that was highly unlikely.

As she pulled out her diary, she saw Kate walking towards her, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey," Kate said to her. "What's up?"

"Relaxing," Scarlett replied, grinning. Kate laughed.

"Me too," she said. "Sawyer bet me a tarp that I couldn't spend a whole day doing nothing."

"Are you serious?" Scarlett asked. "Do you know if he's got another tarp handy, because I'd take that bet any day."

Kate laughed and sat down beside Scarlett, next to Boone's possessions.

"It's going to be the easiest bet I've ever taken," she said. Scarlett shook her head.

"Not for you, it isn't," she replied with a small grin. "You don't relax well, remember."

"Yeah…" Kate said thoughtfully. "I really don't."

"And you know that Sawyer's going to do anything that he can to make you help out with things."

"Yeah," Kate said with a slightly mischievous grin. "I know."

"Well, I suppose as your friend I have no choice but you help you out, huh?" Scarlett said, sighing heavily with mock sadness. "All right, I'll help you fend off any attempts at cheating that Sawyer might throw your way. Sound good?"

"Sounds excellent," Kate said, sticking out a hand. Scarlett grasped it and grinned. Kate smiled back.

"Now," Scarlett said. "Take it from the woman who has been forced to relax more than anyone else on this goddamned island. The best way to relax is to put your towel near the waves and just sit there and talk to a friend."

"Sounds good," Kate said nodding.

"Oh, and bring a book," Scarlett said absently.

"I don't think I have a book," Kate said in a laughing tone. Scarlett looked at her incredulously, then shook her head.

"All right," she said. "You're lucky that I managed to store away about eight of them! I'll bring them with us, and you can take your pick."

She picked up her small backpack and shook out her towel, and then picked up Boone's towel as well.

"Isn't that Boone's?" Kate asked nervously.

"He won't mind," Scarlett said absently. "He probably won't be back until after sunset anyway. We'll be done by then."

Kate smiled and took the towel from Scarlett, and the two of them headed down the beach, chatting amiably.


	44. Away From Me Part 2

Ugh, have I ever mentioned how much I absolutely hate school? I think so. Probably. Because I really, truly, hate it.

I had a pretty baaaddd day yesterday. I had an hour and thirty minutes of AP history, and for like…the first half my friend wasn't there, so I was totally going nuts, and I was already dead tired. On the plus side, we played this scavenger hunt game (games are like…that class. Junior AP history and we play games. It rocks) and we had to be signers of the Constitution, and I signed this kid's paper and we stood really close and he smelled good. Yup. The highlight of that class.

So then I went to keyboarding for another hour and a half. That's the world's most boring class, especially since I already type crazily fast! So I basically finish the work with twenty minutes left in class and just sit there. Then off to chemistry…that's just self explanatory. Suckfest. We're learning about flipping moles. And not the animal kind. Go to Trig next instead of pre-calc, cus that was the class of DEATH and I got switched out into a class that's all seniors who I don't know. There are two hot boys though. Hehe, I like staring.

After that…French shoots self That's just very boring. Though I did play the gum game…and so kicked ass. See, my French teacher seems to think that you can't speak French right if you have gum in your mouth. You know, because the French don't chew gum or anything, right? So pretty much everyone tries to get through class with gum without her catching them. I haven't been caught once in three years. I'm pretty damn good!

So after that, I was like, okay…this day should just end. So I was staying after and figured I'd have fun fooling around just like every other day and being a general dumbass with my similarly idiotic friends.

Okay…so _awesomely_, my best friend, a senior I like to call "HOT" and his little freshman (slutty whorish bitchy fucking asshole) girlfriend were staying after, and they were completely making out in front of me the whole time. All my other friends ditched me except one, and it was just us two and them two. So then I went and talked to some other people that I vaguely know, and they were all like 'okay…yeah, they need to stop. That's just gross'. And meanwhile I was all like 'grrrrr' cus, as **Hekate**, among others most likely, knows, I'm friggin obsessed and a half with this kid.

So….that's my rant. I'm done now :)

THANK YOU SO MUCH to my reviewers. Yes, I do indeed love you that much.

**Paige03: **Haha, he told Kate about his past…it seemed only fitting that he tell Scarlett too, considering how close friends they are at this point in the story. And the calm? Oh no, definitely not lasting for long!  
Haha, I'd so take that bet any day. I'd just sit there and sleep and….sleep. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Hell, I wish someone would give me that bet! You'll find out about the flashbacks soon. I hope it's a shocker :) I want it to be! Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **Hmm…for some reason, I didn't get the email alert that sent out your review. So me looking at the reviews on the site is the only time I've seen this. I'll have to check that out!

Haha, I do the whole connecting the dots with the mind thing too. Too much, in fact. But the great thing is that my friends totally understand it sometimes. Like some of them will just stare at me like 'wowwwww', but others, like my dear friend HOT, will completely make the connection and pick up the conversation right where it left off! It's great!  
I cried last night when Bernard was asking about Rose :( It was so happy…but yet sad. I want to see them meet up again already! I wanna know what will happen if they don't press that button too. That would be interesting.  
Hehe, there's a few clues throughout the story that might give you the smallest bit of idea about this mysterious thing that Scarlett and Sawyer have in common is. Though I haven't stated anything explicitly yet, there's a few clues there. Thanks for reviewing! You damn mind reader :)

**TotallyLost: **I'm glad you like the episode thing! I wasn't sure at first if I was going to do it, but there's a few things that I want to happen in this episode that I didn't think I could fit anywhere else. So I just completely made up my own! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**JamesPovey: **I'm glad you liked the flashbacks! Because this is Scarlett's episode, these are the flashbacks that mean the most to her. The ones that had the most impact on her life :) Someone told you you looked like Boone! CLEARLY a good thing! Hahaha, Thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney: **Hehehe, I like mysteries! And you may have to wait quite a while to find out, too. Hahaha, I know…you love me :) Thanks for the review!

**Inge-loves-lost: **Wow…you read the whole thing? stares did you start last month? Hahaha. Yeah…this story is flipping long! It's over 300 pages I discovered. At the same time, I discovered that I have no life. Go figure! Hehe, and I'm a hopeless romantic too. Hence this story :)

**LeoChris: **I know the evil school feeling allll too well….as you can CLEARLY see by my page-long rant! Hahaha! I did make up my mind about Boone living and dying. I actually have everything planned out about that, and hopefully I won't change my mind, because I kind of like it. I just have to figure out how to do one little part and I'll be set :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Josslyn: **Haha, yes, this is one of _these _stories. But Scarlett is soooo not me, hahaha. She's all like…giving and nice and sad and all that, and I'm…a teenager, meaning I'm usually unintentionally selfish and a bitch and perpetually happy! Hahaha!  
Oh, I'm totally aware that that dialogue is pointless and a half. See, usually when I'm writing it, it's from 9-11 at night on school nights or 10-3 am on weekends. And usually I'm very very half-asleep. So I'm definitely not focused. And then when I update, it's usually 6-7 in the morning before school, so I'm not awake and don't catch that it's pointless. Then I read it later on and am like 'whafuck!' Hahaha, yup…that's how it goes.  
I think you might like next chapter :) Thanks for reviewing!

Hahaha, the conversation between Kate and Scarlett is a shameless plug for everything I love :) Well…not everything, but many things!

* * *

**Away From Me (2): **Cheater

They had only been sitting down for twenty minutes before Hurley came jogging up, looking nervous about something.

"Um…" he stammered, glancing around furtively. "There's been some trouble back at camp."

"Uh huh," Scarlett said, glancing at Kate pointedly. "What kind of trouble?"

"Um…that dog? Walt's dog? He's…uh…hurt?"

"So why'd you come to us?" Scarlett asked, trying hard not to smile. "I'm not a vet. I don't think there's anything I can do to help."

"Um…Kate?" Hurley asked. Kate glanced at Scarlett. She nodded slowly. Kate sighed.

"I don't think so, Hurley," she said with obvious effort. Scarlett picked up her book again and started reading.

"We know that Sawyer sent you," she said without looking up. "Now just go back and tell him that Kate's going to relax no matter what."

"I…" Hurley began, but as soon as Scarlett's eyes glanced up at him to give him a look that clearly said that she wasn't going to take any of that from him, he sighed. "All right," he muttered. "Hey, you can't blame me for trying!"

"No, you did good," Kate assured him, smiling. "You really did."

"Thanks," Hurley murmured darkly, before turning and walking back towards Sawyer.

"I feel bad," Kate laughed as soon as he was gone. Scarlett grinned at her.

"I have a feeling he was instructed to act like that in order to get you to get up and try to comfort him. You know that Sawyer would have counted that as doing something."

"Yeah," Kate said with a laugh, though she bit her lip. Scarlett shook her head and grinned, turning back to the book. She was almost done, finally.

"Why don't you pick up a book?" she asked. "Anyone but that one."

She pointed to the second biggest book, which was lying on the ground nearest to her.

"Why not that one?" Kate asked, picking up _Tuesdays With Morrie_, which Scarlett had found on the beach during one of the first days.

"Because that's the sequel to this one. Plus, it's wordy."

"Wordy?" Kate asked, laughing slightly.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, glancing at her friend with a smile.

"What's it about?" Kate asked, opening to the first page.

"Alexander the Great," Scarlett said absently, her eyes flying over the page effortlessly, drinking in the words written there. She flipped to the next page. "It's fictional, but there's a bunch of real stuff in here."

"Alexander the Great was the one who fought in the Persian Wars, right?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "That's the one. In this book, he's only a kid, though. A good part of it is about his 'friend', Hephaisition. I absolutely _adore _Hephaistion."

"Really?" Kate asked, not catching the sarcasm of the word 'friend'. "Why?"

"He's sweet," Scarlett said with a grin. "Besides, there's supposed to be this movie being made about it, and Jared Leto is pegged to play him."

"Who's that?" Kate asked. Scarlett gave her a shocked look.

"Did you ever watch My So Called Life?" she asked. Kate immediately brightened up.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God! I loved that show! Who was he? Wait…let me guess…was he Jordan?"

Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "He's a really good singer too. He's got this band, 30 Seconds to Mars…"

"Hey…Kate?"

Scarlett and Kate glanced up to see Traci standing over them, smiling nervously.

"Yeah?" Kate asked.

"Do you happen to have any fruit left over from when you went picking? Because I'm out, and Michael pointed me in your direction."

Scarlett smiled. Though Traci was certainly a better liar than Hurley, it was still blatantly obvious who she had come from.

"Yeah," Kate said, smiling genially. "I have some. Here, I'll…"

"I'll get it for you," Scarlett cut in, grinning brightly at Traci. "You stay here, Kate. Rest for a little."

Kate gasped and flushed slightly, realizing that she had almost lost the bet. She sighed and waved her hand.

"Go ahead," she said. "It's not all that hard to find."

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett said, ignoring the glare that Traci shot her. "Come on, let's go get some fruit."

* * *

When Scarlett made it back, she found Kate deeply immersed in the book, her mouth partly open as she read, her chin resting in her hand. Scarlett smiled to herself and picked up her own book, lying down on her towel next to Kate and reading as well.

It felt good to just lose herself in the book, imagining the world of Alexander and Hephaistion. There was no island or French woman or polar bears or monsters. There was just two people in love, and Scarlett was glad for the change.

* * *

During the course of the next few hours, several different people came up to Kate asking for her help, but she politely rejected every one of them. She confided in Scarlett that her book was too good to stop reading, and she didn't even have the urge to help anymore.

Scarlett finished her book and picked up the sequel, _The Persian Boy_. Kate finished _Tuesdays With Morrie_, pretended that she wasn't crying, and then picked up _Five People You Meet In Heaven_.

Later on, Scarlett spotted Boone heading towards Sawyer's shelter. He was in there for only a short while before he headed out and walked back towards the trees, carrying his green over-the-shoulder bag. Locke wasn't with him. When Scarlett said something to Kate, the other girl didn't even look up. She just said 'well, we all knew that boy was a weird one', then smiled to herself and continued reading. Then, Locke walked around, talking to a few people, before he walked off too in the same direction that Boone was going. Scarlett hated not knowing what they were doing at that hatch of theirs, but there didn't seem to be anything that she could do about it until her ankle got better. She sighed and shook her head and turned back to reading. She would find out later.

* * *

When it was dark, Kate went off to find Sawyer to claim her prize, and Scarlett carried the stuff back to their spot, spreading out the towels neatly. Then, she sat down and wrote in her diary for a bit before making a fire and actually succeeding for once. Her good mood only heightened, and she sat down to read some more of her book.

Some time later, she heard Boone and Locke chatting behind her. For once, both of them came to sit by the fire.

"Hey," Boone said casually.

"Hi," Scarlett said with a smile. "Hi, John."

"Hello, Scarlett," Locke said cheerfully. "How's your ankle?"

"_Much _better," Scarlett said with a laugh. "I can hardly feel it anymore. It's not as bad as it was last time."

"That's good," Locke said, looking genuinely pleased. "So you'll be able to come with us tomorrow after lunch?"

"Why after lunch?" Scarlett asked. "Why not just right off?"

"Well, we're not going to the hatch in the morning," Locke said quietly. "We're going to finish something that we started today. Very dangerous. We wouldn't want you there with your ankle."

"Okay…" Scarlett said slowly, figuring that it was best not to argue with him. "Sure, sounds fine."

"Good," Locke said, as Boone heaved a relieved sigh that he tried to hide. Scarlett noticed but didn't say anything. If she had to guess whose idea it was to leave her behind for the next morning, she'd have bet anything that it was Boone. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Boone. In the afternoon, I'll send Boone back to get you, okay, Scarlett?"

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett said, nodding.

"Bye, John," Boone said, waving slightly. Locke grinned, bowed his head, and walked off towards the trees, where his own meager possessions were located.

As soon as he was gone, Boone sat down next to Scarlett, sighing slightly.

"Rough day?" Scarlett asked with a grin, setting down her book.

"Yeah," Boone said with a small laugh. "Really rough day. A lot of working."

"What, did John have some new plan to open the hatch?"

"Yeah," Boone said without hesitation. "He did. Didn't work, though, and we started something new. That's the thing that we're going to finish tomorrow."

"Why is it dangerous?" Scarlett asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Because it's easily breakable," Boone said. "And if it breaks, the pieces will all go flying everywhere. John and I didn't want you to be there in case something like that happens."

"Oh…okay," Scarlett said, shrugging. Honestly, she didn't mind not going to a place where she could potentially get stabbed through with a piece of wood or whatever else might be on this mysterious contraption. But, of course, she didn't want Boone to go there either. "But…what about you?"

"Huh?" Boone asked, pulling out his water. "What about me?"

"Well if there's pieces flying everywhere and stuff…then you're just as likely to get hit as me."

"Oh, yeah, but I don't have a hurt ankle to prevent me from flying unceremoniously out of the way if that does happen," Boone said sweetly. Scarlett laughed.

"Good point," she said begrudgingly. "But trust me, Boone. My ankle would _not _prevent me from flying out of the way if I was in danger."

"I have no doubt," Boone said with false sympathy. "But John really didn't want you getting hurt."

"John?" Scarlett asked with a knowing smile. Boone shrugged.

"All right," he said. "So I didn't want you to come either."

Scarlett shook her head, smiling.

"I knew it," she said in a singsong voice. Boone laughed again.

There was a short silence. Boone picked up Scarlett's book. "I see you finished that other one."

"Yeah, finally," Scarlett said with a small snort. "I was reading it back in Australia. It's about time."

"Well, it's big book," Boone remarked in a joking attempt at comfort. Scarlett laughed sarcastically. "So what did you do all day?"

"Sawyer and Kate had a bet going that she wouldn't be able to relax for a whole day," Scarlett started. "So I spent most of the day reading with Kate on the beach, fending off any of Sawyer's attempts at cheating."

"Sounds like fun," Boone laughed.

"A little," Scarlett said. "I mean, reading and being with Kate was fun…but it was just too relaxed. I'm getting tired of relaxing."

Boone gave her a look and raised his eyebrows.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "If I had such a good excuse to relax, I'd take it!"

"No you wouldn't!" Scarlett exclaimed incredulously, taking the book from Boone and folding the page over. "You'd be going around collecting firewood and stuff! You would _not _relax."

She tucked the book into her bag and started fluffing her pillow.

"Well…maybe not," Boone admitted with a small grin. "But I think I'd probably have either you or John forcing me to."

"Don't forget Jack," Scarlett said.

"Ah, yes, Jack too," Boone laughed. "How could I forget him?" He paused for a moment. "Speaking of Jack…how are the headaches? Ready to take that trip over to the caves to see him?"

"The headaches are fine," Scarlett said, shaking her head at him and smiling. "I don't even have one today."

And, for once, she didn't. She had gone the whole day without feeling sick at all, though there was that tiny headache in the morning.

"Maybe you're getting better," Boone remarked.

"I think I might be," Scarlett said. She gave Boone a pointed look. "And I didn't even _need _Jack."

"Yeah, yeah," Boone said, rolling his eyes. Then, he smiled.

"Well," said Scarlett after a long pause that threatened to turn awkward. "I'm tired. I think I'm going to…uh…sleep now."

"Yeah…me too," Boone said. They smiled at each other, and then lay down facing opposite directions, both of them falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

_Scarlett was standing in a huge field of flowers. It was definitely not on the island. She remembered this place. It was where she and Carol would practice softball when they were little. She looked around, knowing that Carol would be there somewhere. Suddenly, she heard someone humming. It was Echelon, by 30 Seconds to Mars. Carol's favorite song. She whirled around to face the sound, and saw not Carol, but Stephen. _

_"Hey, princess," he said, arching his eyebrows suggestively. Scarlett started to back away and tripped on the long, flowing skirt she was wearing, falling to the ground. She couldn't see Stephen through the long grass, but she could feel that he was there. _

_"Go away," she said pleadingly. She managed to untangle herself and get to her feet, and Stephen was nowhere to be seen. She knew he was still there. _

_"I miss you, babe."_

_Scarlett whirled to face the voice, but there was no one behind her, though the voice had sounded close. Suddenly she felt his hand on the back of her neck, attempting to soothe her. She whirled around again, but the only remnant was his almost ghostly laugh. _

_"Get away from me!" she growled, inexplicably angry. "Don't touch me!" _

_"Why not?" he asked with a laugh that chilled her. "You've always been a very…touchy feely person, Scar."_

_Scarlett spun around again to face the voice, but yet again there was nothing. She tried to turn again too fast, and she fell on the ground again, this time lying there, breathing heavily and trying to avoid notice. She heard Stephen's echoing laugh. _

_"Please," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please go away."_

_"What's that, Scar?" Stephen asked loudly, his voice sounding close to her right ear. She screamed and jumped to her feet, running as fast as she could through the tall grass. Stephen just continued laughing, his laughter never getting any quieter. Then, finally, she heard Carol. _

_"Scarlett!" her friend yelled. Scarlett glanced to her left, from where the call had come, relieved when she spotted Carol standing across the grass, waving to her. "This way! Hurry!"_

_Scarlett changed directions and ran towards Carol, flinching as Stephen's laugh got louder. Then, as she reached Carol at last, and grabbed her friend's hand, the laughing ceased, and they were alone in the field, with the grass gently bending in the soft breeze._

_"Scarlett," Carol sobbed, flinging her arms around Scarlett's neck and hugging her. "I've missed you so much."_

_"I've missed you too," Scarlett said with a smile, hugging her friend back. "Now, let's go. We have to get out of here."_

_Carol nodded._

_"Yeah," she said. "I know where to go." _

_And then Carol closed her eyes. Scarlett did the same, and when she opened them, she was standing with Carol in the clearing filled with flowers. _

_"We're safe here," Carol said with confidence. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett agreed, nodding. She sat down on the grass, and Carol joined her. Scarlett smiled at her and held out a hand. Carol took it, and the two of them sat there, listening to the noises that came from within the jungle. _

_"Help me!"_

_It was Claire again, screaming for help like she always did in Scarlett's dreams. Scarlett stood up, moving towards the edge of the clearing, listening carefully for another scream. Another one came, just as she knew it would. _

_"Who is that?" Carol asked, standing up as well and walking to stand beside Scarlett. Scarlett noticed that the both of them were still wearing their skirts and tight, skin-showing tops. Carol had a flower in her hair. A quick check revealed that she did too. _

_"What the hell are we wearing?" she asked Carol. Carol looked down and shrugged. _

_"I don't know," Carol said. She looked around. "This place doesn't feel safe anymore."_

_"No, it's safe," Scarlett said firmly. "It's safe."_

_"Help me!"_

_"We have to help her," Scarlett said suddenly to Carol, whirling around and facing her friend. "Come on."_

_She grabbed Carol's hand and turned around to run, nearly colliding with Stephen, who stood in front of them with a broad grin. _

_"Hello," he said in that haunting voice. "Scarlett, dear, you know you can't just…"_

_Suddenly, Stephen's face exploded in a brilliant display of excruciatingly detailed gore, sending blood and bits of flesh splattering all over Scarlett and Carol's faces. They both screamed and flung back, landing on the grass. Stephen's body, still spewing blood, fell to its knees. Though Scarlett couldn't see a mouth in the mess of what was once his face, she heard him screaming. That only increased her horror, and she screamed as well, watching as he raised his blood-covered hands to his mutilated face and howled in agony. Then…he went completely still, almost rigid, and fell forward. _

_Scarlett tried to get out of the way, but found herself unable. Stephen's body crashed onto her, and she flailed her arms and legs as she was showered in his blood. She heard Carol screaming, and she heard herself screaming, and she heard Claire screaming. Loudest of all was Stephen's screaming, which still rang long after his body fell. _

_Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped themselves around Scarlett's waist, and she was pulled out from under Stephen. Her eyes, squeezed shut from when Stephen's bloody corpse had fallen on her, flew open to see that her savior was Boone, and that he was staring down on her with a look of utter horror. _

_"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just saw him…and I pulled the trigger…"_

_Scarlett finally understood. _

_"You killed him," she whispered, surprisingly not angry at all. She was…thankful. Relieved. "You killed him."_

_"I killed him," Boone said, sounding sick. Scarlett grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him. She ignored Carol's gasp, the screams of Claire (who she knew she couldn't help), and any of the various fears that she might have. She just focused on Boone, and on the fact that he didn't seem to be pulling away anytime soon._

_"Look into my eyes," he whispered in a singsong voice as he pulled out of the kiss, his hand raising to caress her cheek idly. "And you will see. What you mean to me."_

_"Search your heart," Carol continued, walking up to the two of them. "Search your soul."_

_"And when you find me there," Boone whispered in her ear. "You'll search no more."_

_Then they stepped over Stephen's dead body and, with Carol in tow, walked boldly out of the clearing, still singing gravely.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke the next morning with a smile on her face that wasn't showing signs of leaving anytime soon. Boone was lying so close to her that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and she shivered slightly before sitting up and reluctantly moving away.

"Scarlett."

Scarlett knew that voice. She tried hard not to flinch, and she looked up at Stephanie with an extremely fake smile.

"Hi…Stephanie," she said nervously. "Um…what's up?"

"Is he awake?" Stephanie asked, indicating Boone. "I need to talk to him."

"No, he's not awake," Scarlett said, throwing a little sadness in her voice. "He wasn't feeling good last night, so you should probably let him sleep."

Stephanie looked suspicious for a moment, before shrugging and looking very disappointed.

"All right, I'll see if I can find him later," she said slowly. Then she turned and walked away.

"Thank you," Boone murmured sleepily, his eyes still closed.

"You're welcome," Scarlett replied with a smile, picking up her book and opening to the page where she left off the night before.

* * *

Boone left about an hour later, after a hug goodbye for Scarlett. She chatted with Sawyer for a little bit before finally settling down, finally left to read her book in peace.

At least, she was left to read in peace until Shannon walked up.

"Hey, Scarlett," she said brightly. Enthusiasm was very rare for Shannon; so rare that Scarlett, who recognized Shannon's voice before she even looked up, thought that she must be wrong about who she thought it was. When she saw that it was, indeed, Shannon, and she was looking _happy_, she smiled back, her surprise evident.

"Hey, Shannon," she said. "Why are you so happy today?"

"I don't know," Shannon replied with a shrug. "I just woke up today in a good mood, I guess."

Scarlett looked around. It _was _a particularly beautiful day…but she doubted that Shannon would have noticed that. Maybe she and Sayid had hooked up or something. That would certainly make her happy.

"That's odd, for you," Scarlett remarked, only half-joking.

"I know! "Shannon exclaimed. "'Sayid said the same thing."

Scarlett hid a laugh.

"Really," she said. Shannon shot her a glare.

"Well, it's not like it's a bad thing," she said darkly. "Well…not _really _bad anyway. I've just always been a pessimist. That's all."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Scarlett said sarcastically. Shannon fake-hit her on the arm, laughing.

"You shut up," she said. Scarlett laughed as well. What normally would have made Shannon fly into one of her tirades had made her laugh instead. There must have been _something_ that happened to make her this happy. Either that or she had finally gone crazy.

Scarlett saw Sayid approaching before Shannon did, but she gave Shannon a signal with her eyes, telling her to turn around. Shannon complied, and smiled brightly at her 'friend'.

"Hello, Shannon," Sayid said tenderly. Scarlett smiled to herself. Shannon probably liked Sayid so much because he made her feel like a princess. His gentle treatment of her was probably not something that Shannon was used to.

"Hey, Sayid," Shannon said.

"Hello, Scarlett," Sayid said to her. She smiled and raised a hand in a half-wave.

"Hey," she said.

"So what's up?" Shannon asked.

"I decided to take a break from looking over the French woman's maps, and I decided to come visit you two," Sayid said, smiling.

"That woman is crazy," Shannon muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "Honestly, I don't know how you can sit there and try to make sense of those readings."

"I'm a math person," Sayid replied simply, smiling. Shannon shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she laughed. "She's still crazy."

"Why doesn't she just come live with us?" Scarlett asked suddenly. Sayid and Shannon both turned to her. After a short pause of thinking, Sayid answered.

"I don't think she trusts us very much," he replied. "Besides, I don't think she'd…fit in here. She killed her own team. Think of what she would do to us."

Scarlett nodded, trying not to think about what that would be like. Living all alone, on the island, with no one to talk to but yourself? No wonder that woman was crazy.

"I feel bad for her," she said after a moment. Sayid nodded sadly.

"Me too," he agreed. "She lost a child. She claimed that the Others took it. I think that's what made her…" he smiled slightly, "…the way she is."

"I think she was crazy from the moment she landed on this island," Shannon muttered. "Before that, even."

Sayid smiled at Shannon.

"Maybe," he said. "The only way we can know for sure is if we were somehow able to talk to her again. But…I don't think I really want to go back there and find her, myself."

"I wouldn't either," Shannon said. Scarlett shook her head.

"No," she said thoughtfully. Then, Shannon quickly changed the subject to the building of shelters, and Scarlett and Sayid followed her lead, keeping the conversation on trivial things.

* * *

A few hours later, after Shannon and Sayid were long gone to the caves to 'get water', and Scarlett was sitting down to some fresh fruit that she had gotten from Kate when Boone came out of the woods, smiling at her brightly.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," Scarlett said, standing up and taking the fruit with her. "Where we headed, the hatch?"

"Actually, no," Boone said with a small laugh. "There's something I wanted to show you."

"Really?" Scarlett asked, her eyebrows raising in question as she picked up her bag with her camera, diary, Claire's notebook, and water bottles. "What?"

"I can't tell you," Boone said. He took her arm and tugged it gently, until she started walking with him, a small smile spreading over her face.

"What, is it a surprise?" she asked. Boone nodded with a playful grin.

"Yeah," he said. "It is. Now come on. It's already one o'clock. We need to get there before dark."

"It's going to take that long?" Scarlett asked with some fear.

"No," Boone said. "But come on!"

He was laughing, and Scarlett couldn't help but laugh as well. He seemed very excited about this, and Scarlett couldn't help but be excited as well.

"All right," she said. "Lead on, Boone."

Boone grinned and beckoned to her, and they started off into the trees.

* * *

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Is anyone else totally and completely excited?


	45. Away From Me Part 3

Weeeheee, another chapter update for me! I had a decidedly better day at school today :) My history teacher is seriously so hilarious. He should be a stand up comic. He was talking about how his first grade daughter has been talking to a boy, and it just really made me laugh…a lot! Hahaha. That and we were copying sentences from French magazines today in French class to demonstrate some grammar form, and my friend Jared wrote one on the board that said:

"Tu peux embrasser mon cul d'American" which means, in French, "You can kiss my American ass" The teacher was absolutely horrified, but it was so funny!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And please, please, please review again!

**Josslyn/JoJo33: **Haha, I noticed that your review got deleted. I was reading it and was like "What does 30 seconds to mars equal! What! WHAT!" hahaha. But I'm so happy you love them too! YES! I'm not alone in the fanfiction world! Hahaha. Hey, you never know about the kissing part. Maybe it happens in this chapter! Maybe…. evil grin Thanks for reviewing!

**Saraiyu: **There's a flashback in this chapter to make you happy! But it ends on a cliffie too. Hehe! Oops. Glad you liked it though! And I totally know how you feel about school. It takes up so much of my time, it's insane. And I'm working on two stories, so this story tends to get neglected sometimes. Poor thing! Haha, thanks for reviewing!

**LeoChris: **Haha, well, you're definitely right about the Scroonage! ;) Thanks for the good luck wishes! Haha! And…about the whole season 1, season 2 thing…by the time I finish with this season, season 2's probably going to be over already anyway! Hahaha. But if it's not, I probably won't wait any before writing more. This story like…dominates my life! Hahaha. And when you say successful…do you mean loooooong, or like….successful! Cus I didn't expect it to be either, hahaha. Thanks for reviewing! Oh…and YEAH school still sucks! Hahaha.

**Izzy: **I was wondering where you were! Hahaha, I'm very excited you're back, hence the ! next to your name! Sweet, so it's starting soon, then! It shall be a fun time over there! Hahaha. Florida was BOMB! I loved it! Hahaha. Me and my sister went on all the little kid rides, like the Dumbo ride and stuff. That was awesome! How was your two weeks in Turkey? And ugh, Alias and Survivor are on at the same time now, so I had to pick one. Since Survivor is like a family tradition, I picked it over Alias. Plus, with Michael Vartan gone…what's the point? Hahaha. And my real name is Julie! Or Julia. Technically Julia, hehe. Thanks for reviewing!

**Inge-loves-lost: **Haha, I don't think _I _could sit and read this whole thing. It's soo long. I have up to episode 7 printed out, and it's like 140 pages long. And that's just up to 7! Those are the short chapters! Hahaha. And you'll see why Boone is excited very soon :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Oh man, I totally sympathize with you there. Guess we both had days that just sucked like hell. Well, at least we can rant online to each other! That's always good! And yeah, I really do have a horribly vivid imagination. It can sometimes be a bad thing, haha. Or a good thing…though I prefer to look at the goodness :) I had a dream like that once…kinda. It was freaky as hell and I didn't sleep for the rest of the night! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney: **Actually, my week was kinda shitty, but it got better today! That's always good, hahaha. I'd be scared if I was Scarlett too. Her dreams are weirddd. Haha, wish granted! You get to see where Boone's taking her very very soon. Thanks for the review!

**Hekate-Trivia: **It's WEDNESDAY! Hehe, and yes, you did read my mind you crazy psychic! Haha. Just wait till I post the chapter where it happens. You will gasp. I promise you! Haha, and yes, you were mentioned in my pre-chapter rant! Yes! We're not the only ones with freaky mind-connecting powers! That's good to know :) Oh dude, when Bernard and Rose meet, I think I will CRY! Out of happiness though :) Thanks for reviewing…MIND READER! Hehehe

**KnightoftheRoundTable: **Whoa….you're a smart cookie :) Hehe, thanks for the review!

**JamesPovey: **I'm glad you liked it :) hehe. And going through this epi by epi is challenging, but definitely worth it! And hey, who said I didn't respond cus you were wrong :) Maybe I just didn't want to give anything away :). Thanks for reviewing!

**Brenenna: **Haha, oh God, I am very sorry for your entire World History class! I based her off of two girls who have been in my classes forever, and are wicked close friends. I just kind of melded everything about them that I hated and ta-da! Instant Stephanie! And is Boone's surprise cheesy? Oh yeah. Expect lots of cheese :)

* * *

**Away From Me (3): **Surprise

Back at Sawyer's shelter, Kate and Sawyer sat on the ground outside, talking easily, both of them watching Boone and Scarlett across camp.

"You think this is gonna work?" Sawyer asked. Kate smiled slightly.

"I hope so," she said. "It should."

"Damn, I hope it does. The two of us have worked too hard for this for it to not work."

Kate blushed slightly as he said 'the two of us'. Sawyer noticed, but he, like a true Southern gentleman, decided not to say anything that would make her uncomfortable. He just nodded and took another sip of his water. He had hidden the alcohol away for a later day.

"There they go," Kate said after the long, extremely awkward pause. Sawyer glanced up and saw that, indeed, Scarlett and Boone were walking off into the woods.

"Damn, I hope this works," he said with a small laugh.

"Yeah," Kate said. "Me too."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, slightly surprised that she was making eye contact. She hardly ever did that. She preferred to look past him, or maybe through him. It depended on her mood, really.

"Well," he said, standing up. "There ain't nothing to do but wait, now."

He searched in his pockets for a cigarette, then remembered that he was out, and sighed slightly.

"I'd better go," Kate said quietly. Sawyer had a feeling that Jack was due for an appointment with Charlie soon. She didn't want to be seen around him.

"Yeah, if you want," he said, shrugging. He played it off like it was no big deal. If Kate chose the doctor over him, then why should he care? He could always find another woman to bother, just like he did when Scarlett seemed to be turning her attentions towards Boone.

Kate stood up. She looked around. Just as Sawyer had expected, Jack was coming out of the trees with Charlie. The two seemed to be deep in conversation, but Sawyer saw Jack glance over towards he and Kate a few times.

"I'll see you later," Kate said to him kindly.

"Yeah," Sawyer said bitterly. "I'm sure you will."

With that, he turned and walked into his shelter. Kate hesitated for a moment, but then walked slowly down the beach, glancing back at the closed flaps of Sawyer's shelter as she walked, a hurt expression on her face.

* * *

"Where are we _going_?" Scarlett asked as she and Boone walked off the path to the caves and into the woods in the opposite direction of the hatch.

"It's a surprise!" Boone exclaimed, laughing. Scarlett grinned and stumbled over a tree root a little bit, muttering angrily under her breath. Boone laughed and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Thanks," she said, noticing that her face burned a little bit at the contact.

They continued walking in silence, with Boone stopping every few minutes to look around and get his bearings. Though Scarlett was admittedly slightly nervous, considering that it was Boone, who wasn't the best navigational person, she knew that it would be all right. Or…she _felt _that it would be all right. She wasn't quite sure that she _knew _it.

"Where's John?" she asked after about ten minutes of walking in silence.

"Who knows," Boone said with a laugh, glancing at Scarlett. "He said he was going to the hatch, but he'd find us after a while."

"Does _he _know where we're going?" Scarlett asked. Boone nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "It was partly his idea. You know that night that we went off into the woods?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said.

"That's when we started this whole thing," Boone said, shrugging. "But I'd better stop talking about it, huh?"

"You could always just tell me," Scarlett said sweetly. Boone laughed.

"Not a chance," he said. "You'll see soon enough, though."

Scarlett laughed under her breath and just kept walking. Every so often she'd trip, and Boone would always put a steadying hand on her arm. After a while, she started tripping on purpose.

* * *

After what felt like an hour of walking, but what was probably only a little more than twenty minutes, Boone stopped and looked around carefully.

"Stay here for a second," he said to Scarlett casually. She looked at him, her eyes widening.

"Where are you going?" she asked with some fear. "You're not leaving me alone in the middle of the woods, are you?"

Boone looked back at her with some surprise.

"Not for long," he said gently. He walked back towards her, holding out his hands, palm out. She looked at him questioningly. He smiled and took her hands in his gently. "Don't worry," he said calmly. "I'm not going to be long. I just have to check something, okay?"

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding. She glanced around her nervously, though she tried to hide her fright from Boone.

"All right…well, you just stand here, and I'll go ahead. I'll be _right _back."

He gave her one more reassuring smile, and then hurried off into the trees. Scarlett watched him until he was out of sight in the thick foliage, and then she slowly sat on a rock that was located nearby, shaking slightly.

Though, if she were to be honest, it wasn't just the fear of being in the woods alone that was making her shake. It was more than that. It was also the fact that she and Boone were together, in the woods, and that he had a surprise for her. What kind of surprise, she wondered. Of course, since it seemed as if John were involved, it probably wasn't any type of surprise that she sort of hoped it was, but it was still fun to imagine. Though she wasn't allowing her imagination to think anything, at the moment. She was trying to focus on not shaking. She couldn't let her various fears get the better of her.

She closed her eyes and focused on breathing in slowly, just like Carrie had always told her to do. There was nothing in the woods but she and the rock she was sitting on. Nothing. There was no one out there and nothing could hurt her. She opened her eyes and looked around. Boone wasn't anywhere in sight. She sighed and turned around, looking behind her into the trees. No one was there either, thankfully.

She stood up and looked behind her again. She turned completely in that direction, watching as a small white bird flitted through the trees, chirping merrily. She smiled slightly at that, and watched it as it perched on a branch, singing a pretty song.

Suddenly, a twig snapped behind her. She whirled around, her hands curling into fists defensively, but it was only Boone.

"All right, I'm back," he said with a small smile. She heaved a relieved sigh, smiling at him.

"Good," she said. Boone walked forward, about to say something, when suddenly he stopped moving.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with worry. "You're shaking."

Scarlett looked at her hands and saw that, indeed, she was shaking despite her best efforts to control it.

"Oh," she said bashfully.

"Do you want to head back?" Boone asked, looking nervous. He looked back towards where they had come from. It was definitely a long way from camp. He was probably calculating how long it would take to drag her back to the beach if she happened to pass out.

"No, no," Scarlett said quickly. She most definitely did _not _want to head back, where she would be forced to relax for another unholy number of days. "I'm okay. It's just…" She shrugged. "I'm glad you're back."

Boone slowly smiled, a look of pleasant disbelief on his face.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling slightly at him. He grinned back, one half of his mouth lifting. There was a short pause, in which he looked at the ground and smiled, and she looked at him and smiled wider. Then, he looked up.

"Come on," he said. "We're almost there."

He reached out and took her hand, leading her along through the trees. It was so quiet that Scarlett could hear her own breath, and she unconsciously moved closer to Boone.

"How close is 'almost there'?" she asked nervously. Boone smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry," he said. "Nothing's gonna happen to us. It's all right."

"I'm trying not to worry," Scarlett murmured, drawing even closer. He tightened his hold on her hand. "But it's creepy out here."

"It's not creepy where we're going," Boone replied, grinning at her. Scarlett smiled back.

"I'm glad," she said gently, with a small smile. "I don't like creepy very much."

"Me neither," Boone said. They walked a few more steps, and then Boone took a black strip of cloth that was hanging off of one of the nearby trees. "Okay," he said. "Well, this is the part where I have to blindfold you."

"What?" Scarlett asked, eyeing the cloth warily. "Why?"

"Because it's a surprise," he replied, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "You want to be surprised, don't you?"

"Only if it's a good surprise," Scarlett said with a small laugh.

"It is, I promise," Boone said reassuringly, laughing as well.

"You'd better not let me fall," Scarlett warned him. Boone took that as a sign that it was all right, and he stood behind her, putting his arms over her head and looping the blindfold around her eyes.

"I won't," he said comfortingly. Then, he tied it behind her head. Scarlett blinked a few times, but couldn't see anything. She sighed.

"All right…" she said nervously. "How are we gonna do this?" She waited for an answer, but Boone didn't respond. "Boone?" she said tentatively. She was reaching her hands up to take off the blindfold, but suddenly she felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, his voice so close to Scarlett's ear that she jumped with surprise.

"You scared me!" she exclaimed accusatorily.

"Sorry," Boone replied, and he sounded sincere. "All right. Now…here, I'll take your arm like this…"

If he noticed that she was shaking again (which he must have), he didn't say anything. He just took her arm and then wrapped his other arm around her waist, keeping her steady as they walked forward. Scarlett bit her lip and put her hand on his back, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly. He was wearing a new shirt. It was dark blue with cards on the front. He looked _very _good in it.

"Be careful," she said to him fearfully. Boone was silent for a moment. Scarlett had a feeling he was smiling.

"I will," he said to her, and he was indeed smiling.

"I feel like an idiot," Scarlett laughed under her breath as they walked along slowly.

"Don't worry," Boone said comfortingly. "We're almost there."

Scarlett almost tripped twice, but each time Boone caught her and hauled her back up with a joking warning to be more careful. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Scarlett felt that she was no longer stumbling her way through the underbrush, but was walking on soft sand. They walked forward a few steps, and then Boone stopped her.

"Are we there?" Scarlett asked nervously.

"Yeah," Boone said, grinning to himself as he looked around. Everything was perfect. He stood behind Scarlett and started untying the blindfold. Scarlett just stood patiently, waiting for him to be done. Then, the last knot gave way, and he slowly lowered the blindfold from her eyes.

What Scarlett saw next, she would never, ever forget. It was like something out of a dream.

"Oh my God," she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth as her eyes took in the beautiful sight in front of her. She didn't know what to say, or what to think. She could only stare.

Starting at her feet was a path of white stones, which was perfectly straight and shone bright in the sunlight. The path lead to a rock wall a little down the beach, which had a small cave within it. The mouth of the cave was cut off by a tattered white sheet, and was decorated with beautiful white and pink flowers in makeshift vases. In front of the cave and off to the left were two palm trees that had a hammock strung between them. A sort of roof was made out of palm boughs to cover the hammock, which was littered with more pillows than Scarlett had ever seen on the island before. In front of the cave, next to the hammock, was a flat rock with logs placed around it like a table with chairs. All of this was strewn with the same beautiful pink and white flowers that were at the cave.

"Do you like it?" Boone asked, looking slightly nervous.

"Boone…it's beautiful," Scarlett gasped, turning to face him.

"I figured…you know, you've been so stressed out lately about Claire and stuff," Boone stuttered. "I mean…I know this isn't going to make you forget about Claire or anything, and I'm not trying to make you at all, but I just thought that since I owed you for helping me out with Stephanie, and then everything else…I'd do something nice for you."

"Boone, this is _beyond _nice!" Scarlett exclaimed, giving him a sad but elated smile. "I can't believe you did all this…all for me."

Her tone held a question, so Boone smiled slightly and nodded.

"All for you," he said. "You deserve it, Scarlett. More than anyone."

Scarlett was touched by his words, and she flung her arms around his neck happily.

"Thank you," she whispered to him as his arms encircled her waist.

"I owed you," Boone said again.

"Yeah, but I didn't do anything nearly as great as _this_!" Scarlett exclaimed. Boone shrugged.

"You have," he said. "You've done plenty."

"Like what?" Scarlett asked with some confusion. She couldn't remember doing anything nearly as nice for Boone as he had just done for her.

"You made me feel better when Joanna drowned," he responded automatically. "You've made me laugh more than I've laughed in my whole life. You've made me _happy_ here, Scarlett. You can't know how much that means to me."

"Oh, Boone," Scarlett said sadly, not really knowing what to say. She just hugged him again, and this time they didn't separate for a very long time. When they did, Boone held up her camera.

"You should take a picture of it," he said. "You know, for Claire."

"You're right, I should," Scarlett said with a small smile at him, snapping a picture of the beautiful area in front of her. "I still can't believe that you did this…"

She sighed happily and shook her head.

"Like I said," he replied with a small smile and a shrug. "You deserve it."

"Well…thanks," Scarlett said with a sad smile for her friend. "It means a lot to me that you did this."

"I'm glad," he said gently. "I'm glad you just didn't think I was crazy."

"Not at all," Scarlett said with a laugh. Boone laughed as well.

"Come on," he said. "Check it out."

Scarlett smiled at him and started to walk down the white stone path. Then, she whirled around and snapped a picture. Boone jumped with surprise at the bright flash. Scarlett laughed and pulled the picture out of the camera as it developed. She looked at it and laughed again.

"Oh my God, that's so funny," she said mockingly.

"Let me see!" Boone exclaimed in a laughing tone, running forward. Scarlett smiled at him playfully and took off down the sand. Boone followed her without hesitation.

The two of them ran along like children, laughing and kicking up sand. Boone was much faster than Scarlett, so it didn't take long at all for him to catch up with her. He lunged for her and grabbed her around the waist. She spun around in his grasp, so she was facing him, and she smiled at him coyly. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath.

"Maybe I'll let you see later," she said, deftly slipping the picture into her back pocket. "If you're good."

She laughed and pulled away from him. Boone grinned. He couldn't have expected a better reaction from her. He had been afraid that she would hate it, or that she would say that he was just trying to get her mind off of Claire like everyone else.

"Let's go check it out," he said to her with a small smile.

"Gladly," she said, hugging him again. He felt his red cheeks glowing redder. She didn't notice, and she walked merrily down the path, towards the hammock. "Did you make this all yesterday?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Boone said, following her. "John did a lot of the putting it together…you know, so it wouldn't fall apart."

"You did these, though, didn't you?" Scarlett asked, smiling at him as she fingered one of the flower chains that hung from the roof. There were many of them there, like beautiful tropical streamers.

"Yeah," he said with a bashful smile. "John said I was just wasting my time with those…but I thought you'd like them."

"I do," Scarlett said genuinely, smiling at him radiantly. Boone couldn't get over how absolutely happy she looked. He found himself unable to look away.

"I'm glad," he said. He gestured to the hammock. "You said that the thing you missed most was a warm bed with fluffy pillows." He smiled slightly. "I think this is the closest we can get out here."

Scarlett smiled at him, feeling a lump grow in her throat.

"I'm really touched," she said seriously, meaning every word. "Thank you so much."

"You deserve it," Boone said again. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"You're amazing," she said. "The fact that you would do this all for me is just…it's so awesome, Boone. You can't know how much it means to me."

"I'd like to think I have some idea," he said with a smirk. She smiled at him, and they walked forward to check out the cave.

"It's so beautiful," she said as they stepped past the cloth door. "I don't know _how _you did this in one day."

"A lot of hard work," Boone said with a laugh. Scarlett turned to him and grinned.

"So this is the 'extremely dangerous' thing you guys were working on," she said with certainty. Boone grinned at her.

"Yeah," he said, chuckling slightly. "But, in my defense, that hammock was murder to get up. That took most of the time."

Scarlett laughed and glanced at him, shaking her head.

"I bet," she said. "It's very impressive."

"John caught us some fish," Boone said, gesturing to what looked like a cooler on the other side of the cave. The cave itself was good-sized, with various things littered around, like a half-finished table and several blankets folded up in one corner.

"Did he really?" Scarlett asked, surprised. "How much did you guys do for this thing, honestly?"

"A lot," Boone replied with an easy grin. It was hard work, but we managed it. And in only a few days, too."

He grinned again and then bent down, trying to open the cooler. She watched him as he fidgeted with it, looking completely adorable and frustrated. She smiled to herself and bent down to help him. The cooler slid open effortlessly.

"Who takes a cooler on an airplane trip, honestly?" she asked conversationally. He laughed and inspected the fish inside before sliding the cooler closed again.

"Well…" he said with a small smile. "I'm glad they did. Now we can have some fish that will keep cool."

She grinned at him and both of them started towards the mouth of the cave. Once they were outside, Boone sat the cooler on the rock and started unwrapping the already-cleaned fish.

"Want me to start making the fire?" she asked him. He nodded and shrugged.

"Sure," he said. "If you want to."

Scarlett started about making the fire, while Boone set up the cooking stuff. After about five minutes, Scarlett actually managed to get a fire lit, and she grinned at Boone triumphantly.

"That's twice in a row!" she remarked proudly. "I'm getting pretty good at this fire making business!"

Boone laughed and handed her the stick with the fish on it.

"It's the practice," he said. "We've been making a lot of fires lately."

"_You've _been making fire," Scarlett retorted. "I try and then get frustrated and let you take over."

"Well, true," Boone remarked with a laugh. "But I haven't heard any recent cries of 'Boo-oone! The fire won't start!'"

Scarlett laughed at the impression and shoved him lightly as he laughed.

"Hey," she said. "I never said I was good at it. I never lit many fires when I was growing up, you know."

"True," Boone remarked. "And I _certainly_ didn't…"

"No," Scarlett laughed. "Probably not."

Boone rolled up a log that provided great seating, and they started to cook their fish.

* * *

_"Stephen?" _

_Scarlett screamed into the dark night, the rain and the wind whipping around her violently. Stephen stood next to his car, swaying slightly on his feet. He was staring at something on the ground. Something…_

_"Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett turned around to face Anthony as he came running out the front door towards her. _

_"Anthony!" Scarlett exclaimed. She hadn't known that he was home. He must have gone in to the basement when she was sleeping. "Stephen hit something!"_

_"What?" Anthony asked, glancing towards Stephen. "Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah, I was standing right here," Scarlett said shakily. She was afraid to go to Stephen. She didn't want to see what he hit. She didn't want to even _imagine _what she could possibly see. _

_"All right, stay here, okay?" Anthony said gently, running out into the gale and making his way towards Stephen. Scarlett watched, nearly motionless, as he stopped in front of her boyfriend and stared down at the person who he had hit. Then, in what appeared to be a blind rage, he punched Stephen.

* * *

_

"I think it's done," Boone said gently to Scarlett. Scarlett pulled the fish out of the fire wordlessly, looking it over. It was definitely done. She smiled at him, and he held out his hand for the fish. She handed it to him, and after a few minutes, he handed it back, completely cut up on a flat wooden board that he called a plate.

"Thanks," Scarlett said, slightly surprised, smiling at him happily. Boone grinned and shrugged.

"No problem," he said. "This _is _your night, after all."

"Well, day," Scarlett pointed out. Boone shook his head and grinned.

"We're staying overnight," he said with some excitement. Scarlett looked over at him incredulously, at the same time scared out of her mind and absolutely delighted.

"Really?" she asked, her fear clear in her voice.

"Yeah," Boone said nervously. "Unless you don't want to…John's going to be back by then though…"

"Oh, okay," Scarlett said with some relief, feeling much safer just knowing that Locke would be there. Boone seemed to sense it, and he grinned at her slightly.

"What, don't think I can protect you?" he asked her playfully, starting to cut up his own fish.

"It's not me I'm worried about," Scarlett said, looking at him pointedly. She thought that she'd have to explain that comment, but Boone seemed to grasp right away that she was talking about the dreams.

"Yeah," he said sadly. "But…you know, they're just dreams."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. She looked down at her fish, nibbling at a piece absently. "But, John's got knives."

She smiled at him, and he let out a small laugh.

"Very true," he said. "John does have knives. John has _big _knives."

"Hopefully big enough," Scarlett snorted. She shook her head. "This whole thing with Claire…and Charlie. God…I mean…what if that happened to us?"

She didn't want to picture it, and she forced the images out of her head.

"What do you mean?" Boone asked, his full attention turned to her, the knife held limply in his hands.

"Like…if someone took you, and left me…what would I _do_? You're the best friend I have out here. What would happen to me if something happened to _you_?"

"You've got Kate and Sawyer," Boone replied with a crooked grin, though it was clear he was touched that she thought about him.

"And I love them both to death, but you're the friend who's been here since the beginning," Scarlett pointed out. "You and…Claire." Here, she took a small pause before she continued. "It's just…I've been thinking a lot lately of what would happen if we went off into the woods, and something happened and you were gone, and they left me behind. What if I didn't know if you were alive or dead? How…what would I do?"

There was a short silence, in which Boone stared into the fire thoughtfully. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he sighed heavily.

"I've been thinking about that, too," he said quietly. "I really don't know what I would do if something happened to you. I don't think I would know what to do then either. I'd probably handle it like Charlie was. I'd just sit there and stare out at the waves, thinking.'

Scarlett nodded slowly.

"About what you could have done differently?" she asked, knowing that if she was in the situation, that she would be doing just that.

"About you," Boone replied, turning to look at her pointedly. Scarlett tried hard not to smile, and she just looked back with equal amounts of sadness.

"I think that's just what I would be doing," she remarked. Boone smiled slightly, just enough so that the corner of his mouth lifted into a half-smirk. Then, he shrugged.

"Not much else _to _do," he said. Scarlett nodded sadly, taking in every detail of his face quickly, as if afraid that something was going to snatch him away at any moment. Though she would have rather died than admit it, she was.

"Nothing except hope," she whispered softly. He nodded and then turned back to his fish slowly. "I can't even think about it," she said, shaking her head.

"I try not to," Boone replied. Scarlett glanced at him with sad eyes, and he bit his lip and ate some of his fish. She ate a little bit, but found that her appetite was completely gone. Boone seemed to be suffering the same thing. After a few moments of silence, he got up and returned with a small bottle of wine.

"How'd you find that?" Scarlett asked with surprise. Boone shrugged.

"Sawyer," he said.

"And he gave it to you?" Scarlett asked with surprise.

"Yeah," Boone replied, putting two paper cups on the rock and pouring a little wine into them. "I didn't even ask him for it. I was looking for pillows, and he just ended up giving me this, too."

Scarlett smiled slightly and shook her head, taking a sip.

"He's really a nice guy," she said quietly, almost to herself.

"He is," Boone replied. "Though it took a while for me to find that out."

"He never was all that nice to you," Scarlett admitted with a laugh. Boone snorted.

"Finally, you admit it," he retorted. She laughed.

"Hey, I said that he was really a nice guy. I never said that he was nice to you!"

"Yeah…true," Boone said begrudgingly. "But…he got nice."

"Yeah, he really did," Scarlett said thoughtfully. It was amazing, to her, how much people had changed over the short time on the island. She herself had changed a lot. She had mostly gotten over Stephen. She had gotten far more independent. She was able to make friends. Back home…she never would have been able to do any of those things, especially with Stephen hanging over her head like a swinging pendulum.

She stood up and moved over to the hammock, examining it carefully with a wide grin. It was absolutely gorgeous. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Well…

She turned to look at Boone, who was watching her with a small smile. She then decided that the hammock was definitely the _second_ most beautiful thing she had ever seen.


	46. Away From Me Part 4

Hokay, so it's been a rather long time…WICKED sorry about that one! I'm not usually a homeworky person, so it doesn't usually effect my update time, but hooooly crap my teachers loaded it on! Hahaha! So anyway…yeah, that's why this is late and why I'm up at 10:30 writing this!

Happy Halloween to those celebrating it! Hehe, me and my friends are going Trick or Treating! Yes…I am sixteen and am going Trick or Treating. Don't laugh at me! I'm being an emo fairy! I have black wings and a black wand and a black rossee…hehe its purty!

Aaaannnnyway, thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed! Pllleaseee review again!

**TotallyLost: **You find out who Stephen hit in this chapter :) Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney: **Hehe, at the end of the chapter, you find out who he hit! This is the last part of Scarlett's episode…but I'll probably give her her own in season two or something…I'll probably definitely do that though. Thanks for reviewing!

**JamesPovey: **Yay! I'm so happy you liked that quote! I was in such a romantic mood that day, and was just completely writing sap and all…I was kinda proud of that a little. I didn't totally hate it like I usually do, hehe.  
Hehe, you'll see who he hits at the end :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Hekate-Trivia: **I'm glad you liked those lines! Haha, and you have psychic ability! I told you! I TOLD YOU! Hahaha, I knew it all along!  
Ahhh, when Ana Lucia told them they were going back to the other survivors, I got soooo happy, cus I knew Rose and Bernard would be together again soon! YES! Haha, I was yelling at her about the ring too. It was so obvious! And sorta ironic! Thanks for being wicked cool and leaving me a review ;)

**Saraiyu: **Moohaha, you find out who Stephen hit at the end! Yaya! I'm glad you liked the last line! Everyone seems to like that! Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **Yay! I'm glad you feel better! And I'm glad I sort of helped! More carefree fun ahead, I promise ;) Thanks for the review!

**AzaDownie: **Yay! Inspiring! Sweet! What do you mean by the first gripe? Do you mean when they were talking about keeping her mind of Claire? Cus that was just meant to be a friend thing, like all her friends would help her out…and then Jack…just cus he's Jack and needs to be everywhere. And the companionable…hahahaha, yeahhhh, I know I use it too much. Like…a looooot. I have bad habits, hehehe. I also say 'hahaha' too much! Ooooopsies. Thanks for reviewing!

**LeoChris: **Haha, yay, nothing to complain about is always good! Hehe! Wahhhh, I hate reruns though! And I think I am going to CRY next Lost episode :( Thanks for reviewing!

**SUmMeRiTh: **Yesss, everyone liked my last line, hahaha. I'm so happy. And I'm glad you liked the cheese! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Inge-loves-lost: **Hehe, Boone is very sweet, and I so agree about the thing being gorgeous and all. I imagined it as b-e-a-utiful! But, of course, Boone is more so ;) Thanks for the review!

**ShalBrenfan: **I missed reviewing your reviews! Hahaha! Hmm…Idk about the AIM messenger thing. We can try it! My screennames are freakallweek125 and boonesprincess15. Either one. I'm on constantly! Hahaha.  
Sweeeet that you get to see Lost! That's awesome! I hope you loooove it as much as I do! Hehe!  
I called my friends from Florida, hahaha. My cell phone is all weird and somehow it gives me totally free service, so I never have to pay a thing, so I was calling home everyday. It just so happened that I left in the middle of a very rough time for two of my male emo friends, and I was calling home to check up on them. This one kid who is also my sisters crush was being all emo, so we called him from in front of the Dumbo ride, hahaha. We so made his day. It was awesome! I was like "Hi…Hanzel? You alive?" Ahhhh man, that was great.  
I'm so glad Turkey was BOMB! Yes! You take so many vacations! You're so lucky! You should take a vacation to Norton Mass. Ohhhh yeahhh, that's where the excitement's at! Haha oh man…as my history teacher says, "The only thing Norton is known for is our Dunkin Donuts….we've got FIVE frickin dunkin donuts! Who the hell needs five Dunkin Donuts within a three mile radius!" That…pretty much sums up Norton right there!

Haha, I refuse to watch Alias now, so I'm sticking with Survivor. I looove Survivor. It's the only reality TV show I can actually stand. It's like Lost and the Real World combined…and though I hate the Real World, I like Survivor. Well, for one, the guys are hotter and spend allll day without their shirts on…and then there's the challenges and toughness and…okay, I'll admit it…sweaty hot guys…and then there's the fights and stuff that make me laugh! So yeah…Survivor rules! Haha!  
Glad you liked the chapter! Now that I've written a page…I must hurry and respond to everyone else before I gotta sleep :) Thanks for reviewing and I'm soooo glad you're back!

**Amethyst Prongs: **Hopefully you're all caught up by now! And wow, you seem to have some animosity towards Boone! Hahaha. Hope you like this chapter ;) Thanks for reviewing and taking the time to read my long asss story!

**Dark Syrinx/Domino: **Awwww, dead computers suck! Mine is currently held together by duct tape, but it still works as long as no one tries to adjust the screen! I hope that makes you feel better, hehe. And I like the nickname! Hahaa. The movie does look cool and I have to see it! We'll go together in spirit!  
I hope Charlie stays clean too :( Though I have a feeling something's going to happen and then I'm going to be sad! But hehehe, I like your idea about the rockstars! Especially that part about Jack and packmules and port-o-potties! That so made my day! Hahaha.  
OMG, that scene with the bottle was so cute, when she was looking for his letter. I really almost cried. If she had started crying, I know I would have too, but thankfully she managed to keep it together so I could too, hahaha.  
Yeah, I have trouble keeping track of things I'm writing about, so things will randomly disappear and then reappear a few chapters later and such. It's a problem I have to fix, hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

**Brenenna: **This is a response to the one you left me on chapter 44, just to let you know, haha.  
You said that Kate didn't have time to watch TV…I think you were referring to the part when she said that she loved My So Called Life? If so, My So Called Life aired in either 1992 or 1994…having a brain fart at the moment, hehe. So that was when she was younger and probably not a fugitive, so she would have had time to watch it. It was a minor hit with high schoolers at that time. I personally was like…four or five, so Scarlett and Kate would have been a little bit older. Scarlett like 10 and Kate probably like 14.  
And I know the Shannon, Sayid, Scarlett convo was random, hahaha. I just did that because I realized that Sayid had vanished from the face of my story and I wanted to make sure everyone knew he and Scarlett were still sort of kind of friends.  
I hope that covers it! Thanks for reviewing…again! Haha

* * *

**Away From Me (4): **Lost In You

Sawyer was sitting by his tent when he heard someone approaching him. He looked up and saw Kate standing in front of him, biting the inside of her cheek and obviously unsure of what to say. It confused Sawyer, at first, before he remembered how she had ditched him at the first sight of Jack earlier.

"Well, well, well. Jacko go back to the caves?" he asked with well-acted bitterness.

"Sawyer…" Kate said sadly. Sawyer shook his head and laughed slightly, looking down at the ground.

"You know…" he began, looking back up at her sideways and frowning. "You think I'd learn to expect it from you, Freckles. But it still disgusts me every time."

He stood up and glared at her for a few moments, causing her to lower her eyes to the ground. Then, he pushed past her and started to walk down the beach, cursing the fact that he didn't have a cigarette to light.

"Sawyer…" her voice came from behind him, so quiet and so weak that he couldn't resist stopping, though the Sawyer in him told him to keep walking. James overrode Sawyer just this once, and he turned back to face her, still glaring.

"What is it, Freckles?" he asked impatiently when she didn't answer right away. She didn't even lift her eyes from the ground. Then, she slowly looked up.

"I'm sorry," she said painfully. Sawyer wondered if apologizing was as hard for her as it was for him. Judging by how hurt her eyes were, he'd have to bet that it was.

"You're sorry now," he replied coldly, though James was screaming at him to take the opportunity that was in front of him. "But then the next time you're talkin' to me when he's down here, you'll do the same damn thing."

Kate looked back down at the ground, apparently giving up. She knew that he was right. She probably _would _panic and take off down the beach the next time that Jack showed up. For some reason, she really didn't want him to know that she was actually developing a friendship with Sawyer. She didn't really know why. She'd like to be able to tell Sawyer that it was for his protection, so Jack didn't get mad and do something stupid like torture him again, but that would have been a lie. She just didn't want him to know. Maybe she didn't want him to make assumptions about she and Sawyer that weren't true. Maybe she was afraid that if he made assumptions, they would be truer than she wanted them to be.

Maybe she was just confused.

"It's…" she started, but then she realized that she really didn't know where she was supposed to go from there. What was she supposed to say? She knew that she was going to do the same thing again. She _knew _it without any doubt in her mind. Though she would tell herself not to do it, and she would absolutely try her hardest, she would manage to find some excuse to get her as far away from Sawyer as she possibly could go.

"Don't worry, Freckles," Sawyer said harshly when he saw her stumbling over what to say. "I understand totally. Don't worry about me getting in your way anymore. Don't feel like you have to come talk to me or anything. If you don't wanna talk, you can just stay away."

He nodded to her and turned around before he kept walking down the beach. This time, Kate didn't bother to try and stop him.

* * *

Boone stood up and walked a few steps closer to Scarlett as she sat down on the hammock, seemingly without fear of it falling. He was surprised. When he had tested it out earlier in the day, he had been absolutely terrified that it would just collapse. Scarlett seemed to have faith in he and John. The thought made him smile.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, reclining against the pillows luxuriously. "It's so _comfortable_!"

Boone grinned and walked forward until he was standing right near her.

"Well," he said pointedly. "That was the idea."

Scarlett shot him a playful glare and stood up, bending down and grabbing her camera, which she had laid to rest right at the foot of the hammock.

"Here," she said, pulling his arm without an explanation. He allowed her to lead him, and she pushed him down onto the hammock gently. "Let me take a picture."

"What?" Boone asked incredulously. "No!"

He tried to get up, but Scarlett just pushed him back down firmly.

"Yes," she said with a sweet smile. Boone pouted miserably, giving Scarlett the perfect opportunity to take a picture. She did, and he glared at her with fake anger.

"I don't understand why you insist on taking a picture of _everything_," he remarked as she pulled it out and waited for it to show the image.

"Because I want Claire's book to be as detailed as possible. Besides, a sexy shot of you isn't going to make her life any worse, that's for sure."

Boone laughed and shook his head. She smiled at the picture slightly as it began to develop. It was certainly a good picture. She'd be saving that one, definitely.

"Let me see," Boone said, holding out his hand for the picture. Scarlett handed it to him wordlessly and watched him with a smile as he shook his head and laughed at the pose he was inadvertently making in the shot. He looked up at Scarlett and realized that he was sitting, while she was standing, on her special night. "Hey, come sit," he said to her, patting the hammock beside him.

"Is it going to hold the both of us?" Scarlett asked nervously. Boone nodded vehemently.

"Oh, definitely," he said. "It'll hold."

He lay down, stretched out over the length of the hammock luxuriously, smirking at her slightly in a very Sawyerly move. She shook her head at him slightly and sat down beside him in the small space that he didn't take up.

"Push over," she said. He did, and she lay down next to him, so they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Scarlett laughed. "This isn't very comfortable."

Boone looked around thoughtfully.

"Oh!" he said suddenly. "Here, come here."

He pulled her closer to him so that she was lying with her head very close to his, and she was somewhat on top of him, with his arms around her waist. Though Scarlett certainly never would have suggested the position on her own, she wasn't exactly complaining about where she ended up. She smiled up at him.

"Good thinking," she said to him. He nodded and smiled.

"That's me," he said, shrugging. Scarlett settled down against him and laid her head against his shoulder, snuggling up to him like he had done that night in his sleep. Only, this time, they were both very much awake.

They remained sitting there for a very long time in a comfortable silence, both of them watching the brilliant pink sunset splash over the water, casting shadows over the both of them. Scarlett's heart was beating rapidly, but her hand, resting on Boone's chest, could feel that _his _heart was working faster than normal as well. The thought gave her confidence, and she nuzzled closer to him, her head resting between his neck and shoulder.

"This is so comfortable," he murmured sleepily.

"Yeah," she replied with just as much tiredness. "I wish I could just stay here forever." She smiled to herself, the movement tickling his neck. He smiled as well and turned to look at her.

Their faces were only about three inches apart. She was staring up at him, her smile still there, but fading slowly. His smile faded as well, his words dying on his lips. He knew, then, what he had to do. He leaned in closer. When she didn't back away, he leaned in more.

Then, he kissed her.

She was so surprised that, for a moment, she didn't react. Then, as she slowly realized what was going on, she returned the kiss, her hand traveling up to his face, where she placed it against his cheek daintily. His hand moved from her waist to the back of her neck, and they both sat up slowly, still kissing.

Scarlett got to her knees, and she put a leg over Boone, so she was sitting over him. Without breaking the kiss, she pulled him up to her, and his hands went to her waist again, holding her steady.

When the kiss finally broke; once they both realized that they needed air, they just sat there, staring at each other. Boone leaned back, holding himself up with his elbows, looking as breathless and scared as she felt.

"Oh my God," he said after a while. Scarlett nodded, still panting slightly.

"Yeah," she whispered. They both looked up, their eyes meeting, and they both smiled slightly.

"Wow," he said, shaking his head. "I needed that."

"Me too," Scarlett replied, the tension broken as she let out an easy laugh.

Boone surprised her by taking her face in his hands and kissing her again, this time light and gentle. Romantic. The kind of kiss that she _never _got from Stephen.

"Anything else you need?" he asked gently. Scarlett, overwhelmed with happiness for once in her life, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tighter than she'd ever held anyone.

"You," she whispered into his ear, feeling cheesy and slightly overdramatic, but meaning everything she said. Boone smiled and held her back.

"I think I can help you out there," he murmured in reply. Scarlett smiled, and the two of them sat there for a very long time, wrapped in each other's arms, enjoying the company.

* * *

Locke stood back at the trees, near the cave, smiling to himself at the sight of the two black silhouettes embracing over by the hammock. Maybe he would wait a little longer before returning. He didn't want to interrupt them, especially since his plan was finally working and he had finally gotten the two of them together.

He turned back to the trees and started walking, letting the island choose his path for him. He knew that the island would lead him back to the cave eventually. He just had to have faith.

With that thought in mind, he continued into the trees.

* * *

Scarlett and Boone remained in one another's arms for a very long time. When they finally pulled apart, Scarlett was surprised to see that Boone had tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not sure what the answer would be, but not exactly sure that she wanted to know. Boone watched her for a moment, seemingly thinking. Then, he shook his head.

"Absolutely _nothing_," he replied with a smile. She smiled as well and put her hand on his leg. His hand grasped hers, and they just stared at each other for a while, not moving. It was surprisingly comfortable, and Scarlett found herself wanting to stay there forever.

"Tell me," she said with a small, sly smile. "Was this your intention when you made this whole thing for me?"

"I wanted to make you happy," Boone replied quietly. "This was just an…added bonus."

Scarlett smiled brightly.

"What is _this_, anyway?" she asked. "I don't know what to call it."

"A relationship," Boone said, shrugging. "Friendship with benefits."

Scarlett laughed at that one.

"I like the first one better," she said. "It's more…general."

"I agree," Boone replied, his thumb gently rubbing circles on the back of her hand. She smiled at him and the two of them leaned back against the hammock again, getting comfortable.

While Scarlett nuzzled into him, smiling, Boone stared up at the canopy above, a small smile on his face. He had finally gotten what he wanted, what he _needed_. But still, something was troubling him. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew that something was there.

He decided to ignore the feeling, just this once, and he decided to enjoy the moment. There was nothing else to be done. He turned his face and nuzzled his cheek against Scarlett's, enjoying the feeling of her small body in his arms. He felt like he meant something; like he was needed for something. It was something that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Finally feeling it…it brought him more relief than anything, even more than finally letting Shannon go.

He honestly couldn't think of a time when he was happier.

* * *

A few hours later, when Locke finally made it back to the caves, Scarlett and Boone finally got out of the hammock, both of them grinning stupidly at one another. Locke set about preparing some more fish and fruit, and the three of them shared a dinner together.

When they were done, they remained sitting by the fire together, all three of them staring into it as if there was something more than dancing flames to be seen. Boone wrapped his arm around Scarlett's shoulders, and she leaned into him gently, allowing his embrace to engulf her protectively. She liked the feeling of being safe in his arms. It gave her a sense of security that she hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked her after a while.

"Sure," she replied. He stood up, and before she could stand up as well, he held out his hands to help her up. She smiled and took them gratefully, allowing him to pull her up. Once she was standing, he let go of one of her hands, but kept a firm hold on the other one as they started to walk down the beach.

"So are you having a good night?" he asked to get the conversation going.

"Are you kidding?" she asked incredulously. "Boone, this comes close to being the best night of my life." She paused, then continued in a quieter voice. "Actually…I think it might _be _the best night of my life."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, touched.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded.

"Really," she replied. He looked ahead at the beach for a moment, then back at her.

"I think it's the best night of _my _life, too," he remarked. She smiled at him happily, feeling like she was in high school, and the kid that she had a crush on just asked her out. Because, really, that was what was going on. A couple of kids with crushes. It wasn't anything big and glorious. It wasn't love at first sight or a magical relationship that formed from friendship to love in the time that their lips were fused together. It was just exactly like high school.

But even so, it was still beautiful to her.

* * *

They walked for a while until they came to a stretch of beach that seemed suitable, and they both sat down, keeping very close to one another. They didn't break contact at all, and both of them kept the private thought to themselves that they didn't want to be separated for the rest of the night.

"What _are_ we supposed to call this?" Scarlett asked again after they had been sitting and looking out at the ocean for a long while. Boone looked at her and shrugged, smiling with a grin.

"I really don't know," he replied. "I don't think we need to call it anything. We're just…together."

Scarlett liked the sound of that. She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Together," she repeated aloud. "I like the sound of that, Boone.'

"I'm glad," he replied, nuzzling her neck and kissing it. She smiled to herself and leaned her head back, wondering how she ever got so lucky as to be stuck on a deserted island with Boone Carlyle. He was gorgeous, amazingly nice, and sweeter than anyone that Scarlett had ever met. What more could a woman want? Scarlett didn't think there _was _anything else. Boone was…perfect.

She smiled and turned into the kiss. He seemed surprised, at first, when their lips met, but he soon got over the surprise and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist as she turned to face him. This kiss, their third, wasn't as passionate as the first, nor as loving as the second. It was more of a promise that they'd be there for each other. A promise that 'together' meant more than just in a physical way.

Scarlett knew that 'together' meant happy, as far as she was concerned. She just didn't know what the future would hold for she and Boone. She just hoped that it would be something good.

* * *

_"Anthony!" Scarlett screamed, running across the wet lawn towards her boyfriend and her brother. "Anthony, what are you doing? Stop!"_

_Anthony hit Stephen again, and then again. He fell to the ground, bleeding, and Anthony kicked him in the stomach. Stephen sprawled at his feet, coughing and choking on the rainwater that poured down on him. Anthony stood over him, and the blood from Stephen created an eerie red pool thanks to the water that gathered on the driveway._

_Scarlett, slipping on the grass, finally reached the driveway and stared at the sight in front of her. There were two people lying on the driveway. Scarlett realized with horror that she recognized _both _of them. _

_"What did you do to her?" she exclaimed, her voice rising. Stephen watched her sadly from the ground, as Anthony buried his face in his hand and stood there limply, sobbing. "Mom? _Mom? _MOM?" Her voice rose even more, until she was screaming hysterically, her eyes staring at the body near the car. She whirled to face Stephen. "Oh my God! She's dead! You killed her!"_

_She broke off into terrified screaming, her hands tearing at her hair as she stared at the broken, bleeding body of her beloved mother. The eyes, glassy with death and wide open in fear, stared at her accusingly. She screamed, for once relieved that the dizziness and shaking was overwhelming her. Ignoring Stephen's frightened pleas as Anthony resumed his beating, she allowed herself to sink softly to the pavement as darkness consumed her.

* * *

_

Scarlett and Boone headed back to the cave after a while to find that Locke was gone. A note in the sand told them that he'd gone for a walk down the beach in the other direction. Tired and content, they made themselves comfortable in the hammock, where they talked for a while before they both slid into sleep, each with smiles on their faces.

And, for once, there was not a dream in sight.

* * *

Whoo!

One little thing…I know none of you probably remember this, but waaaaay back Scarlett had a dream where Anthony stood over her with rose petals dropping them on her and the rain made them melt, giving the appearance of a puddle of blood. Well…that came from the flashback there. I was proud of that :) hehe. Just thought I'd inform you all!

* * *

**Next Time on: Just Another Castaway **

_(Shannon and Stephanie stand in the sand. Shannon is facing Stephanie with her hands on her hips.)_

**Shannon: **Him and Scarlett are just friends, all right?

_(Stephanie is looking at something over Shannon's shoulder. Shannon turns and looks and sees Boone and Scarlett kissing. She gasps.)_

**Stephanie: **Just friends, huh?

_(Shannon and Boone stand facing each other, each looking extremely pissed off.)_

**Shannon: **Maybe the two of you aren't officially dating, but I think that it's clear that you'd like to think that. You really want to believe that you're over me, don't you?

**Boone: **I am over you.

**Shannon: **_(sneering) _You'll _never _be over me!


	47. Special Part 1

* * *

To make up for the fact that I haven't updated in a while, you get…A REALLY LONG CHAPTER! 

However, I have noooo time for responding to your reviews…but since all I usually do is babble about nothing, I'm pretty sure you'll all be okay with that!

And I think someone mentioned something about her mother's death not being a shocker…well, that's pretty obvious, considering I'd been dropping hints, haha. The reason I had Stephen kill her was not for shock value but more so that the accident would impact him in such a way that he would start to resent Scarlett, and he would be changed. I also needed some way for Anthony and Scarlett's massive falling out to happen. That's all :)

Thanks to all you looooovely reviewers! I'm so sorry I can't review your reviews! But this is the last chance I'll have to post for at least four days, and I have five minutes! SORRY! Please review again and I'll respond next time :)

* * *

**Special (Part 1): **Confrontation 

Scarlett awoke in Boone's arms, a small smile spreading over her face as the events of the night before flooded back to her. She and Boone had kissed. They were 'together'. She still wasn't all that sure what 'together' meant, but it was good enough for her. Whatever allowed her to be with Boone.

She gently reached out a hand and brushed his hair away from his face. It was starting to grow long. She remembered the day they crashed. He had been completely clean-shaven and had short hair. Now, his face was covered in stubble, giving him a scruffy appearance, and his hair hung over in his forehead when he lay down. It was a also a few shades lighter due to the constant sun. Scarlett wondered how much _her _appearance had changed in the days since the crash.

"Morning," Boone murmured under his breath, a smile appearing as she jumped slightly in surprise. His eyes were still closed. He appeared too lazy to open them. "You sleep good?"

"Better than ever," Scarlett replied, placing her forehead against his. His eyes opened slowly, the bright blue appearing like the sun through a cloud.

"Me too," he whispered, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"I didn't have one dream," she whispered. He laughed under his breath.

"You know…" he said. "Me neither."

"That's good," she said, snuggling closer to him. "Maybe they'll finally go away now that we've got each other."

"Maybe," Boone said with a small laugh. "But you never know with this island."

Scarlett laughed and closed her eyes again, just lying there with her forehead against Boone's and a content smile on her face. She felt like she was in a dream, only this time it was a good one. Nothing could go wrong. They were safe forever. She nuzzled against him, closer, and felt his arms secure themselves around her waist, holding her safe. She sighed contentedly and wished fervently that they never had to get up.

* * *

Of course, that wish could never come true. They had to go back to the campsite later on that day, and they both knew it. They remained in the hammock for a very long time, before Locke finally came out of the trees and decided that they had been 'sleeping' for long enough. Of course, he knew as well as they did that they hadn't been 'sleeping' since about nine o'clock that morning. 

"We'll go back for a little while and check up on things," Locke remarked nonchalantly. "We can go back to the hatch tomorrow. Give you kids some time to… 'relax'."

The fact that Locke had just made a suggestive comment struck both of the two lovebirds speechless. Scarlett looked at Boone, and he looked at her, and then they both looked back at Locke.

"I'm going to pretend that you never said that," Boone said after a while, reluctantly untangling himself from Scarlett and standing up, helping her up as well.

"Come on," Locke said, grinning. "Get the pillows and blankets into the cave. It's going to rain later on tonight."

"Okay," Boone said tiredly. He and Scarlett started clearing away the pillows and moved towards the cave, walking very close and bumping into each other often. Locke smiled and shook his head, chuckling to himself at his little joke. He was proud of that one, and even more proud of the fact that it had made them slightly uncomfortable and surprised. He chuckled to himself again and shook his head as he looked out at the ocean, a content smile spreading over his features.

"Hey, John!" Scarlett exclaimed from behind him. He turned to look at her, and found she and Boone waiting for him by the cave. "Let's go! Stop being so lazy!"

She grinned at him radiantly, and he laughed, inwardly marveling at the amazing change in her. Only the afternoon before there had been so much sadness in her gaze, and now there was nothing but joy. The fact that _he _had been the one to put it there, through his hard work and manipulation, made him feel…different. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was the first time he had done something so _selfless_. There was nothing for him. No reward. He didn't receive anything in return, except the knowledge that he had made the lives of two amazing young people better than they had ever been.

But even Locke wasn't able to predict how he was going to threaten that happiness, and how he was going to hurt both of them worse than they had ever been hurt before.

* * *

The three adventurers made it back to the camp later on that day. Locke made straight for the caves, while Boone and Scarlett headed back to their stuff. 

"I was thinking we should make a shelter," Boone remarked casually, smiling at Scarlett. He noticed for the first time how absolutely beautiful she was. He had seen it, of course, but he hadn't really taken the time to actually look her over and admire her.

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small smile. "We probably should. I'm getting sick of hiding under trees every time it rains."

Boone laughed and looked around.

"Me too," he said. "We could build one right over there."

He pointed to a nice little area where the trees had a small indent, leaving just enough room for a good-sized shelter.

"We could," Scarlett agreed.

"And it would be a good one," Boone said laughingly.

"The best," Scarlett agreed. The two of them laughed and sat down on their blankets. At once, they both had the same thought, and they turned to each other, their eyes widening slightly.

"What are we gonna do at night?" Scarlett asked.

"I was just thinking that," Boone answered. He thought for a moment. "Well…do we want people to know about…this?"

"I think people should know, yeah," Scarlett replied, nodding.

"Well…Kate and Sawyer already do know," Boone admitted abashedly. "But no one else does."

"We don't even have to tell anyone," Scarlett said with a shrug. "We just do what we want and let everyone else take care of themselves."

"Sounds like a good plan," Boone said, nodding. "The island grapevine will spread the word faster than we could anyway."

Scarlett laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "We probably just have to worry about Stephanie."

She smiled slightly. Boone gave a little shudder.

"That woman just won't give up," he said. "I haven't even really talked to her in like…a week, but she's still following me around like a sick dog or something!"

"She probably just thinks you're hot," Scarlett teased, nudging him playfully. She pulled out the pictures that she had taken when they were at the cave (including a few of she and Boone kissing and hugging that Locke had taken) and started putting them in her notebook.

"Why?" Boone asked, wrinkling his nose slightly. Scarlett stopped what she was doing and turned to him, her eyebrows arching slightly.

"Did you just ask me why Stephanie thought you were hot?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Boone said uneasily. "Why?"

"Boone!" Scarlett exclaimed, laughing slightly. "Stephanie thinks you're hot because you're the most gorgeous man to walk the face of the planet!"

"I don't know about that…" Boone laughed, shaking his head.

"I do," Scarlett retorted smugly. "I don't know what you see when you look into the mirror…"

"I see a skinny boy with red cheeks, freaky eyes, and an annoying smile," Boone interrupted. "I see me."

Scarlett gaped at him.

"How can you be so _blind_?" she asked. "You're gorgeous! You're skinny, yes, but that's not a _bad _thing! And your cheeks are absolutely adorable! As for your eyes? They're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen!" She shook her head. "And don't even get me started on your smile! It's _radiant_." She smiled at him and moved her face in closer to his. "You're _perfect_."

With that, she placed a short, sweet kiss on his lips and turned back to her work. Boone watched her with a smile on his face, wondering to himself if she knew how perfect _she _was.

"How many pictures did you take?" he asked casually, stretching out beside her and lying on his stomach, his chin on his arms, which were folded in front of him.

"Umm…I got six," she replied, counting quickly. "Two of the cave and stuff, one of Locke smiling, and three of us kissing. I'm putting in one of the cave, Locke, and two of us kissing."

"What about the other kissing one?" Boone asked. Scarlett smiled and held it up.

"I'm going to keep this one," she said, tucking it safely into her bags along with all of the pictures that had taken before Claire had been kidnapped.

"How are you doing for film?" Boone asked, scratching at his head lazily.

"Pretty good," Scarlett said, shrugging. "It's not like the supply is never ending, but I've got enough to last for a while."

"That's good," Boone said, nodding. Scarlett scribbled notes in the notebook and then put the book down, lying on her stomach beside Boone and smiling at him.

"So," she said slowly. "What do you want to do while we 'relax'?"

"How about we go for a walk," he said suggestively. "Maybe some nice secluded place where we can…talk."

"Sounds good," Scarlett said, standing up. Boone stood up as well and draped his arm across her shoulders as they headed over towards Scarlett's rock, smiling at each other and at themselves, both of them wondering how it was possible that they could be graced with such a promising future, when neither of them had ever really had anything to look forward to before.

* * *

"Look, why don't you just stop following him around, okay?" Shannon asked Stephanie irritably, her hands planted firmly on her hips. Stephanie glared at her and shook her head. 

"I'm not following him around," she said pointedly. "I don't know what your problem is."

"Both he and Scarlett are getting a little creeped out by it," Shannon insisted. "I know you've been doing it. I've _seen _you. Girl, you are like…_at least _five years older than him! He's only twenty-three. He's not a very flirtatious guy. He's shy, sheltered. Besides, him and Scarlett are just friends, all right?"

Shannon noticed that Stephanie was looking at something over her shoulder, so she turned around and looked in that direction as well. Her mouth twisted into a disbelieving scowl. Boone and Scarlett were walking down the beach. Boone's arm was around Scarlett's shoulder, and she was leaning into him. Then he looked down and kissed her. That was definitely _not _something that friends did. Her mouth dropped open.

"Just friends, huh?" Stephanie asked hatefully. Shannon just stared at Boone. He was smiling and laughing. She had never seen him look so absolutely, blissfully happy. _Never_.

"What does it matter anyway?" Shannon asked, suddenly extremely irritated by the other woman. "You're too old for him, and he hasn't shown the least bit of interest in you! What makes you think he's going to start now?"

She turned and stalked away from the other woman, her lime green skirt flaring. She headed towards Sawyer's shelter. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be him.

* * *

Boone jumped up onto the rock nimbly and reached down his hand to help Scarlett up, though she could have gotten up on her own without any trouble. Once they were both up there, he pulled her to her feet and kissed her. 

They kissed for so long a moment that Scarlett was sure that time had frozen, leaving them there for all eternity. She laughed to herself slightly, and Boone pulled away, smiling as well.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing," Scarlett lied, taking his hands in hers and smiling up at him. "I was just…happy."

Boone smiled down at her lazily, moving a hand up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm glad," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. She smiled and leaned into his touch, resting her head against his chest. His arms encircled her, and hers wrapped around him, and the two of them stood there for a very long time, holding each other and thinking to themselves. After a while, Boone finally pulled away and sat down on the rock, pulling her gently down to sit beside him. For a while they just sat close together, watching the waves. Then, she looked at him.

"This feels very unreal," she said slowly, biting her lip. Boone looked at her and smiled.

"It does," he agreed. "It feels like a dream. Like I'm going to wake up any minute and I'm going to be back at home in L.A."

He sighed and shook his head, looking out at the waves before looking back at her again.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I'm kind of…glad that the plane crashed now. I feel horrible for feeling like this, since so many people died, but I just would have been going back to…my life." She sighed and shook her head, making a face. Boone was quiet for a short moment, and then he looked at her sadly.

"You never told me the details about your life," he said sadly. "It seems like there's a lot of stuff…more than what you told me and John back there in the jungle."

Scarlett nodded slowly, keeping her eyes locked with his.

"There is," she said. "A lot more."

"I'd like to hear it, if you want to tell me," he said sadly to her. Neither of them looked away, and neither of them breathed for a long moment. Then, she nodded.

"All right," she said. "I'll tell you." And she took a deep breath and began.

* * *

_"Where are you going?"_

_Scarlett froze and looked over at her brother, who stood in the doorway, frowning. _

_"Anthony," she said slowly. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I was coming to check up on you," Anthony said, narrowing his eyes. "Ms. Peterson called me today and told me she was taking you…"_

_"Yeah," Scarlett scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Apparently Becca and Rob weren't good enough."_

_It was Anthony's turn to roll his eyes. _

_"The parents of your mother's murderer," he mocked. "Yes, I can definitely see why you'd want to live with them."_

_"They're like another set of parents to me," Scarlett shot back. "And I love Stephen. What he did was an accident!"_

_"He _killed _her!" Anthony exclaimed, his eyes widening with anger. "Are you forgetting that little fact? Or does that just not matter?"_

_Scarlett ignored him and started packing her clothes into the suitcase faster, slamming the items with more force than was necessary. Anthony stalked forward and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him painfully. _

_"Anthony, just _stop_, okay?" Scarlett practically screamed, flinging the three shirts clutched in her hand across the room. "I don't fucking need this!"_

_"I think this is exactly what you need!" Anthony yelled back. "How do you live with yourself, Scarlett? How do you live with the knowledge that you're loving the man who _murdered _your mother?"_

_"It was an accident!" Scarlett cried, pulling out of his grasp and grabbing more clothes out of her drawer._

_"You _lied _to protect him," Anthony growled under his breath. Scarlett froze and closed her eyes. "And now you're going to lie again."_

_"I want to protect him," Scarlett whispered, tears falling from her eyes._

_"You're fucking hopeless!" Anthony roared, turning and bursting from the room without another word, leaving his words ringing in her ears.

* * *

_

"Sawyer?"

Shannon peered into Sawyer's tent maliciously, her eyes searching every corner even though she could plainly see that he wasn't in there. She growled under her breath and turned to walk away when she saw him reading under a tree a little down the beach. Her mouth twisted into an unpleasant sneer, and she stalked towards him, eyes flashing.

"Sawyer!"

Sawyer glanced up as she shouted his name. He smiled to himself. Encounters with Shannon were always interesting, if not the most pleasant of conversations.

"What's up, Sticks?" he drawled lazily, putting down his book slowly.

"What the _hell _is going on with Scarlett and Boone?" Shannon asked through clenched teeth, shifting from one leg to the other with obvious agitation. Sawyer shrugged and smiled at her.

"Friends?" he said teasingly. She let out a loud growl of frustration.

"I know you know everything," she exclaimed. "And you're going to tell me."

Sawyer smirked to himself. Toying with people like Shannon was his specialty.

"And why would I do that?" he asked her innocently. "What is there to tell?"

"Sawyer!" Shannon yelled, and he was slightly surprised at the venom in her voice.

"Easy, Sticks," he said with a small chuckle. "Look, if you want to find out what's going on between them, why don't you just ask him?"

Shannon sighed heavily, glaring daggers at Sawyer petulantly. She wasn't about to tell him that Boone had been avoiding her for the past three or four days. She knew that he had noticed it. Hell, Boone had probably told him all about it.

"Because I'm asking _you_," she said after a pause that made Sawyer's grin grow wider.

"I hear that, Sticks," he chuckled. "But what if I don't know anything?"

"You do," Shannon said with a confidence that both surprised and pleased him. She certainly knew what she was talking about. That was rare for the feisty blonde.

"All right," he said, leaning forward. He could tell that he was going to need to try harder playing with her. "What makes you think that I know?"

"You're only close friends with both of them," Shannon replied, folding her arms across her chest as if she had known Sawyer's war-like thoughts.

"They just walked out of the damn woods. I haven't talked to either of them since yesterday mornin'!"

"But you know something," Shannon said, arching an eyebrow. "I know you do. I've seen Boone wandering in and out of your shelter for the past few days. At first I thought the two of you had a thing going on, but then I figured that it had to be something the two of you were planning for Scarlett, since whenever she'd so much as look your way, you'd both freeze like a rabbit in friggin' headlights or something."

"Isn't that a deer, sweetcheeks?" Sawyer asked sarcastically. Shannon glared at him and rolled her eyes.

"I don't care," she said dismissively, tossing her blonde hair back from her face nonchalantly. "Whatever. Don't try to change the subject on me. Just tell me what the hell you and Boone were planning, and tell me why Boone and Scarlett are suddenly tramping off together down the beach holding hands and looking like newlyweds."

Sawyer grinned.

"Even if I did know," he said casually. "I wouldn't tell you after that attitude of yours." He shrugged and picked up his book. "Now why don't you run along and ask your brother or somethin'. I'm sure he'll be able to answer much better than I can."

He grinned at her roguishly and then turned back to his book, flipping a page idly. Shannon remained standing there for a few moments, scowling with hatred, but after a while she turned and stomped back towards her things. Sawyer watched her go, then put down his book and stood up to find Kate.

* * *

"So…after he left, I was on my own for about a week or so," Scarlett was saying slowly, looking down at the ground and biting her lip. "Then I was sitting in this diner near my apartment, just eating my breakfast, and Anthony walked in. We went back to the apartment, and he told me that Stephen had been looking for me…so we packed up, got on a plane the next day, and ended up here." 

"Anthony was on the plane?" Boone asked with horror, his eyes widening. "Did he…"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "He's not here."

"I'm so sorry…" Boone whispered, not only for her loss of Anthony, but also for what she had had to endure for her entire life.

"Don't be," Scarlett said with a small smile. "He was an asshole anyway."

"Yeah," Boone said, his hand tightening on Scarlett's in a friendly squeeze. He shook his head and looked out at the water. "I just…I can't believe you went through all that," he said.

"Sometimes, neither can I," Scarlett admitted.

"I used to think that you seemed to want to be on this island. While everyone was wondering when rescue was gonna come, you were the one thinking ahead and wondering when people were going to start building shelters. At first I just thought it was a lack of hope…but you're really better off here than you've been anywhere else."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small, sad laugh. "I really am. Here…here there's people who care about you and who love you and treat you like they've known you their whole life. They don't have the leisure of being assholes, because our world is only forty-six people big, and forty-six people is too many when they're all hating you."

"Sawyer seems to manage pretty well," Boone remarked with a smirk, though they both knew that he didn't mean it.

"Yeah," she said. "But even _he_ is nicer than Anthony."

She shook her head and smiled, a small chuckle escaping her.

"What?" Boone asked with a smile.

"I was just…thinking," she said, shaking her head. "When we first crashed, I realized that Sawyer looked a lot like Anthony. And he didn't just look like him. He acted like him, too. It was weird, really. And from then on, it's like Sawyer's become a brother to me."

"A brother that checks you out when you're taking a bath," Boone reminded her. Scarlett grinned at him.

"That's exactly why I laughed," she remarked, and Boone laughed as well.

"What did you first think of me after we crashed?" he asked after a pause.

"I thought you were cute," Scarlett said thoughtfully, thinking back to those first few days. "Sweet, for helping me out at first when I was carrying that Artz guy, or Arzt, or whatever his name is, away from the plane. After I got to know you a little better, I realized just how nice you really were."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back gently. He stared out at the ocean for a moment before looking back at her.

"My first impression…I thought you were absolutely beautiful. I think at first I was impressed by the fact that you were running around and helping people, when all Shannon was doing was standing in the middle of everything and screaming. That made me think that you were different than her, that you were better." He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Well…I was definitely right."

She shook her head as well.

"Shannon's nice," she said carefully. "She just needs to learn that the world doesn't revolve around her at all times."

"Yeah, but what you learn after being around her for as long as I am…that's a lot harder to teach her than you might think."

Scarlett laughed and nodded begrudgingly.

"Probably," she said. "I think you might know better than me, after all."

"Probably," Boone said thoughtfully. He glanced at Scarlett, wondering to himself. Did he want to tell her about he and Shannon's Sydney adventure? Probably not, considering that things for them were still extremely tentative. He didn't want her to get a creeped out about it, especially since he wasn't even sure what he felt about the whole situation. Not yet.

"What's wrong?" Scarlett asked him, turning to face him as if she had been able to sense his indecision. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing," he said quickly. "I was just…reflecting."

"Thinking," Scarlett said smugly, knowing that he avoided the word to keep her from worrying.

"A little," he admitted. "Nothing bad though, don't worry."

Scarlett gave him a small, doubtful smile and shook her head, turning back to the ocean.

"I hope not," she said in what was meant to be a threatening tone, and turned out to be more of a seductive one. He laughed slightly under his breath. She was almost as good at the seducing thing as Shannon, and she didn't even try.

"Or what?" Boone asked insinuatingly. Scarlett laughed and shrugged innocently.

"I think I can come up with a good punishment," she said, arching an eyebrow. Boone grinned and leaned forward.

"I'm sure you can," he whispered, and then their lips met and any thought of a punishment was gone from their minds.

* * *

Kate was sitting on the ground near her half-built shelter, holding her toy airplane clutched in her hand sadly, staring at the ground in front of her. Outside, she could dimly hear the sounds of someone yelling at someone else, someone hammering on a piece of metal for a shelter, and someone else singing loudly. She smiled to herself. For a deserted island, it was quite a bit like a city. 

She stood up to go look for something productive to do when Sawyer appeared, grinning broadly.

"Sawyer!" Kate exclaimed with surprise, tucking the plane into her back pocket discreetly. She knew he noticed by the frown that briefly settled on his features, but he chose to ignore it.

"Hey, Freckles," he said jovially. He smiled at her, and she grinned back warily, waiting for him to say why he was there. "I suppose you didn't see Metro and Sox yet."

"No, I didn't," Kate said, brightening. "Why…what…?"

"They were hugging and kissing and looking cute enough to damn near make me sick," Sawyer said proudly. Kate laughed joyfully.

"Looks like Boone pulled it off," she said wondrously. "Though that's not really surprising considering Scarlett was half in love with him already."

"Yeah, no kiddin'," Sawyer snorted. "I'm gonna have to get the details from the two of them later."

"Yeah, you should," Kate said. "I'll come too."

They smiled at each other, and Sawyer nodded.

"It's a date, Freckles," he said suggestively. Rather than get annoyed like she usually would, Kate smiled.

"Sure is," she said, slightly surprised that the words were coming out of her mouth. "I'll see you in a bit. I need some water."

"I'll go with you," Sawyer said lazily, shrugging. "I've been bored outta my mind all day." He grinned. "I could use a little excitement."

Kate was about to open her mouth to protest, but then she stopped herself. Why didn't she want Sawyer to go with her? Why was it such a problem? She shrugged.

"If you insist," she said. Sawyer smiled at her.

"Why Freckles, I sense a change in you," he said mockingly. She laughed and shrugged.

"Well..." she began, but she never got to finish because suddenly Jack walked around the corner of the shelter. When he saw Sawyer and Kate standing so close, smiling at each other, he stopped moving in surprise and stared at them openly. They both glanced at him, and then Kate jumped slightly in surprise, turning to face Jack.

"Kate…" Jack started, frowning.

"Hey, Jack," Kate said cheerfully, flashing him a bright smile. Sawyer rolled his eyes and shook his head, smiling slightly.

"What's he doing here?" Jack asked. Kate turned and looked at Sawyer, her mouth moving without words for a few moments.

"Uh…" she stuttered, but Sawyer was quick to come to the rescue.

"I was just askin' her for some mangos, doc. Don't get your head all filled up with any funny ideas."

He smiled at Jack mockingly, then shot a small glare in Kate's direction before turning and walking away from the two of them, leaving them alone. Neither he nor Jack saw the small, sad glance that Kate turned in the direction of Sawyer's retreating back, or the heavy sigh of resignation she heaved before turning to talk to Jack.

* * *

A few hours later, Boone and Scarlett walked back into camp, holding hands, each with silly grins on their faces and their cheeks flushed. It didn't take much to tell that they hadn't been doing all that much relaxing. 

"I should probably go find John," Boone said with a reluctant sigh, his eyes lingering on Scarlett's for a long moment. She smiled at him.

"Probably," she said cheerfully. "I'll go find Kate. We'll meet back here later?"

"Yeah," Boone said, smiling brightly at her. "See you later."

He stepped forward and took her face in his hands, kissing her sweetly. It was a short, little kiss. It was the kind of kiss that said that he was planning on doing that every time they met up, or every time they separated. It was something that promised to become routine very soon, and it lifted Scarlett's spirits higher than they had ever been raised before.

* * *

_"Now…Ms. Meyers, you were at the scene of the crime."_

_"Yes," Scarlett said slowly, looking down at her hands, which were folded in her lap._

_"When the defendant pulled into your driveway, did Mrs. Hanson attempt to move out of the way?"_

_Scarlett looked up, her eyes locking with Anthony's for a brief moment. She shook her head._

_"No," she said, looking at the lawyer standing in front of her. She saw Anthony stand up in the back of the small courtroom and walk out the two double doors. She faltered for a moment, and then her eyes flickered back to Stephen. "It was clear that she…jumped in front of the car."

* * *

_

Shannon spotted Boone walking towards the trees, and she started walking in that direction purposefully. She was going to _make _him tell her what was going on.

"Boone!" she shouted at him, slightly satisfied at the little jump of surprise he gave before turning around to face her.

"Shannon," he said, sighing with relief. Then he realized that she looked upset, and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's _wrong_?" she asked, her voice rising a few pitches. "What the fuck do you think is wrong, Boone?"

Boone turned his body slightly so he was facing her completely, and he made the Wiggly Eyebrow face at her.

"Umm…did you break a heel off of one of your shoes?" he asked, taking a wild guess.

"Very funny," Shannon sneered, folding her arms across her chest. She decided that he was never going to say something if she didn't, so she just went and said it. "What's going on with you and Scarlett?"

Boone sighed and rolled his head and eyes simultaneously in a very Sawyer-like motion.

"Shannon, I don't have time for this…" he began, starting to turn away, but Shannon reached out and grabbed his arm, whirling him around to face her. He looked at her with surprise and some anger, wrenching his arm out of her grasp. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You never seem to have enough time for me," Shannon remarked, looking very much like she was about to cry. It didn't do her any good. They both knew she was faking. "Not since you started going into the jungle with that crazy Locke guy and Sc…"

"Look, Shannon," Boone interrupted. "I know it doesn't always seem like it…but you don't govern my every moment in life. At least…not anymore. John's helped me to see things differently."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Shannon asked, making a face and scoffing. "See things differently? Boone, if you haven't been able to change your views for thirteen years, how is a few weeks with a crazed senior citizen who owns a collection of hunting knives going to help you?" She grinned smugly and shook her hair back with a toss of her head. "Face it, Boone. You're still in love with me."

"Not anymore," Boone said stonily, turning and starting to walk away once again.

"Who do you love, Boone?" Shannon retorted mockingly, knowing that she once again had the upper hand. "Scarlett?"

Boone froze and turned to look at her, realization dawning on his features.

"Don't you _dare_," he growled to her.

"I couldn't very well let my friend go on without knowing that the man she's currently dating still loves someone else…"

"We're _not _dating," Boone interjected before he could think. Shannon shook her head.

"You never could lie," she said with mock sadness. "Maybe the two of you aren't officially dating, but I think that it's clear that you'd like to think that. You really want to believe that you're over me, don't you?"

"I am over you," Boone growled, taking a step closer to her threateningly. Shannon knew, after nearly thirteen years, that his threats meant nothing. He would never hurt her. She didn't even move back a step.

"You'll _never _be over me," she retorted, delighting in the haunted expression in his eyes.

"You're wrong, Shan," he said, his voice hushed. "I'm over you."

It was a hopeless and pitiful attempt at a lie, and they both knew it.

"Sweet Boone," Shannon said with a sad sigh. "When will you ever learn?"

Shannon was expecting the typical meltdown. The 'just leave me alone' sob story about how he was always there for her, and she was never there for him. She was expecting a lot of real tears on his part, and some fake ones on hers. Then they would hug, and he would be utterly convinced that he still had a chance with her, while she moved on and fell in love, yet again, with the wrong guy. It always worked that way. Shannon liked things that way. She didn't like change.

But she was going to get a fistful of change, and even she, the great emotion-reader bitch who could manipulate a robot, couldn't predict it.

Boone threw down his backpack.

"What the fuck do you get out of this, Shan?" he roared, not caring that Charlie and Rose were standing nearby, looking absolutely horrified at the volume of his voice. "Do you _like _seeing me suffer, because it really _fucking_ seems like it sometimes!" He sighed and put his hand to his forehead. "Look," he said, finally aware of Charlie and Rose and lowering his voice so they couldn't hear. "I'm _not _over you, and maybe you're right. Maybe I never will be. But I'm going to try, and I'm not going to let you get in the way because of your selfish fixation with screwing with my head." He took a step back and gazed at her sadly, then shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Just…let me be happy, okay, Shan?"

She didn't respond. She just stood there, staring at him with her mouth partly open in a stereotypical display of her absolute surprise. He turned again and walked away, and this time she didn't do a thing to stop him.


	48. Special Part 2

Ahhhh omg I'm a horrible author, I know! Ten days is waaayyy too freaking long. I just went into a sort of depression stage for a lil bit after semi formal, but now I'm good and am writing again. Still, ten freaking days? NO! Bad Julie! Arrghhh. Well, it's a long one again, though. I need to write a lot to catch up…and I need to stop being on the phone so much! Talking to people on the phone really distracts me!

Hehe, I made a photo album for all of my friends online. I'm not quite done with it yet, but I also plan on making a blog once myblogsite(dot)com is running again. You guys could check it out and stuff, and it would be sick…

…Because I love you! Awesome reviewers, all of you! Please review again! (Dude, its 10 pm and some owl is hooting all eerily outside my window. Please review! Pity me!)

Owl: Hoot

Me: AHHHHH

I hate fucking owls.

**LeoChris:** Ahhhh I know! Boone's gone forever! Omg I am going to cry! I didn't cry when I watched it, surprisingly, because I was so shocked when they showed who killed her! My jaw was just down to the ground. I'm sure I'll cry when they show everyone's reactions to her death, though. And Shoone is indeed dead…but not in a literal sense! Oh no, I will keep writing Shoone fics! J.J. Abrams can't stop me! Well…okay, so technically he could…but he's not going to! Thanks for reviewing!

**Paige03: **I based Boone's little insecurities on my friend's. He's always going on about how annoying his smile is and how pink his cheeks are and how ugly he is, when he's really the cutest thing to ever walk the face of the planet! I thought Boone might be the same way, so I added that in there. And I so agree, his smile is so sweet!  
Hehe, Do No Harm is now planned down to a tee! I've completely gotten everything figured out…I just need to get there!  
The Shannon and Sawyer sequence was one of those things that I had had planned for a long time. I loved the little part with them in the second or first episode, whichever it was, and I _needed _to write one. So I did! And Stephanie…YEAH, she needs to go away, Hahaha. But she's still here. And she may be for quite a while, I'm afraid to say.  
I agree that Kate should really stop being so indifferent. It does hurt Sawyer, and hurting Sawyer is a bad, bad thing to do! (Owl: HOOT HOOT HOOT…..I swear it WANTS me to go out there and beat it with a baseball bat)  
I agree that Scarlett is an idiot for lying for that bastard Stephen. Though it makes it all the worse for Stephen to treat her so horribly after that. And same with Anthony.  
Yay! In characterness! YES! That's always a good thing :). And I enjoyed writing it! Hahaha. Making Boone tell of Shannon was something I've been looking forward to for a while! Even though I love the two of them together, in this story, they can't be. It's sad…but happy at the same time!  
I'm glad you like my rants! Yes! Then I can rant to you on and on and on, and you won't mind! Sweet! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney:** Long chapters rule all! Yes! And Jack's _always_ ruining everything! He should go die! Now! Haha. But really, he should. And Claire's return will be rather exciting for Scarlett, I predict. (Easy prediction to make, considering I've already written it, Hahaha) Though it may be slightly disappointing for her too. Poor Scarlett :( Thanks for reviewing!

**Inge-loves-lost: **Awww I'm glad you thought the chapters were sweet! I tried very hard to make them so! And Boone is soooo gorgeous, along with Sawyer…they'd make beautiful babies if only one of them was able to have babies! Hehe, Thanks for reviewing!

**Josslyn:** Hahaha, yeah, Locke really is pretty creepy. He's a sketchy, sketchy guy. Silly bald man pretty much describes it! I used that term to describe my friend yesterday, hahha. He's not bald, but he has a little bald spot on the back of his head, though he claims it's a 'part'. So I called him a silly bald man, remembering your review, and made him extremely pissed off! Moohaha!  
Shannon referring to Stephanie as girl…when I wrote it, it made sense, and I know I imagined her saying it in a certain tone, so it sounded right, but now I can't remember what tone that was! I have that problem a lot :(. I'm a problemed child.  
Naughtay Scarlett and Boone! Naughtay indeedily! Thanks for reviewing!

**IZZY:** Hehe…oops about last time. Damn mind. Doesn't work much :(. I'm so with you on the busy days thing. God, soooo busy!  
Hmm…about the name…everyone calls me different things! I have friends that call me Julie, friends that call me Julia, friends that call me very weird things that make no sense, like JuJu (my odd friend Pete), Lancelot, Hephaistion, Dingus (again Pete) and other such things. I think Julia or Julie is good though :) Hahaha.  
Hahahahaha, his name's not really Hanzel. I just slipped up because I'm so used to it! His name's really Brendan, but me and a group of my friends call ourselves the strippers, and we have stripper names. Brendan's is Hanzel, because of that movie Zoolander, Hahaha. Mine is Meltach. Apparently it means sexy in Gaelic? That's what Hanzel says. Don't ask me where he learned to say sexy in Gaelic. My friends are weird though. We have little groups. I'm in the Speds (5 people), Strippers (6 People), Dinguses (2 people), and the three greatest knights, which is actually 5 people. Go figure :)  
Norton Mass is in Massachusetts, obviously, and is the littlest town in the world! Okay…so maybe not that small, but it sure seems like it sometimes. I live here :(. Though it can be okay sometimes, when you're not in school where all the horrible lack of funding shows quite blatantly.  
Hmmm…I'm trying to remember if I slept well. Probably not, knowing me! I'm a very weird dreamer. I dream a lot, and then wake up and can't go back to sleep cus I'm sitting there going 'what the hell did I just dream about! That's so not normal!'  
Sweet! You're going to high school in the US! That's so sick! Do you know what area you're going to yet? I'm so happy for you!  
I'm glad you liked the two chapters so much! I liked them too, because writing romantic stuff is always fun:) Thanks for reviewing, IZZY!

**Hekate-Trivia:** That is indeed a question for later days…much later days if I don't start writing faster! Hahaha. I really need to start writing more! I shall try!  
Stephanie and Shannon should go be secret lovers together or something, as long as they're away from Boone and Scarlett. At least…that's what I think. But that's just me! Hahaha.  
Sometimes I dislike Locke, but I think I've forgiven him for Boone's death, and now I actually kind of like him. He's really sweet this season! Like when he was helping Claire with the baby and stuff. He's so adorable in an old guy kind of way. I'd want him for my grandfather!  
Thanks for the review!

**JamesPovey: **Yeah, Scarlett protected Stephen…not the smartest move, eh? Hahaha. But it ended up leading to her meeting Boone, so it turned out to be a good thing in the end, I suppose. Well…at least until bad stuff starts happening. Then it might not be so good for her.  
They really should have put a giant argument on the show! I would have loved to see that! Because they must have had huge arguments like that that they didn't show. They were quite hostile towards each other! The huge blow-out was just what I wanted to see! Hehehe. And why are you no longer an apparent Boone look alike?

**SUmMeRiTh:** I'm glad you like my writing! Though there's probably no need to be jealous! And I'm glad I solved your boredom problem! I can be good for that sometimes. People call me to be unbored because I can be entertaining in my stupidity! Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

**Anonymous: **Yes…Locke took pictures of Scarlett and Boone kissing. I'm sorry you find that gross, Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing, however anonymously!

**Sunny102:** I'm glad you liked the fight! The show down! It was a fun one to write! Hehhe!

My friend **Pete**, who **Stephen **is based on, said something really sweet relating to this story, even though he has no idea it's fanfiction, one day on the phone, and I thought I'd write it here. Me and my other friend were on the three-way with him, while she was over my house.

Me: Yeah, I base a lot of characters on my friends  
Pete: Like me! That frickin rapist guy ("You Can Call Me Jack" Lmao! Rapist Pete. Hehe)  
Me: Well…there's two others…and one is really nice! (Trabahn from Tears of a Warrior)  
Pete: ONE!  
Me: Yeahhhhhh….  
Pete: And the other one? (STEPHEN!)  
Grace: …is an asshole.  
Pete: Julia! Why's he an asshole!  
Me: He's not a very happy person  
Pete: Why, did you piss him off?  
Me: No…I'm not even in the story.  
Pete: Oh, well that explains it.  
Me: If I was there, it'd piss him off more!  
Pete: Nah. Then he'd be a happy guy, cus you were there with him!

Isn't that sweet? It made me smile for like…the rest of the day.

Anyway, on to the story!

* * *

**Special 2: **Mind's Eye

"Oh my God, that's so romantic," Kate murmured dreamily, smiling to herself and sighing. Scarlett had never seen the other girl so open before. Either she was eating something that was altering her mind, or she was thinking romantic thoughts about someone else.

"Yeah, it really was," Scarlett said, thinking back to her initial surprise when she discovered that Boone had made the little 'island retreat'. She smiled slightly and tucked her hair behind her left ear, shaking her head as she stretched out more in Kate's spacious shelter. "I need to build myself one of these," she remarked.

"You and Boone should build one," Kate said suggestively with a grin. "You know, more privacy…"

"Kate!" Scarlett exclaimed, though she didn't seem to be all that upset about the idea. Kate laughed and lay down in the sand. She suddenly looked thoughtful.

"You know…" she said slowly. "I was thinking earlier today that we've been here for a long time, you know? And sometimes it feels like forever…but we could really be stuck here for the _rest _of our _lives_. And at first, that thought really scared me. But after a while, I began to imagine it. We could have children. They could _play _together in the sand and never know what they were missing. We could write books and have plays and build actual tree houses…we could have _lives _that might even be better than what we had back there." She pointed vaguely out to the ocean. Scarlett smiled to herself. She liked imagining she and Boone living together in a proper tree house with a few kids, living next to Kate and Sawyer, or Charlie and Claire…because Claire _was _coming back.

"I can picture us having some sort of government. Nothing too flashy. Like a town-meeting type of thing, you know?"

"Yeah," Kate said with a laugh. "With Jack as its head, of course."

"Naturally," Scarlett replied with a small giggle. "And Sawyer would be the one in the back of the…uh…hut?" she laughed. "Saying 'I object' to everything Jack said."

"Yes, that would be Sawyer," Kate said, chuckling.

"And you'd be his lovely wife, trying to pull him down into his seat," Scarlett continued teasingly.

"Hey!" Kate exclaimed, swatting at Scarlett playfully. Scarlett laughed and shrugged.

"I'm just telling the future as I see it," she said defensively, shrugging with a wry grin. "And I see you happily married to Sawyer with three children."

"I think you're crazy," Kate said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head.

"Who would you rather marry?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow. "Jack?"

"No," Kate responded automatically. Scarlett grinned at her and pretended to find something interesting in the sand at her left side, away from Kate.

"Well," she said lazily. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

"Hopefully not," Kate said begrudgingly. "I mean…there's a lot of complications that we could run into. People being injured, disease, a lack of food…all of them could make this harder…but just thinking about raising a family here is…it's so…God, I don't even know how to describe it."

"I know what you mean," Scarlett said with a small smile. "I kinda like it too."

Kate smiled and sat up again, shaking the sand out of her hair.

"I think I just need to stop being so worried about…things," she said casually. Scarlett wanted to asked what 'things' they might be, but it seemed that Kate didn't want her to know, by the tone in her voice. As close as they were, it was apparent that there were still secrets that each of them was keeping from the other. As much as Scarlett wanted total trust between the two of them, she didn't want to press it, so she just nodded.

"Yeah," she said, not knowing what else to say. Kate didn't seem to notice the lameness of Scarlett's reply; she was too busy staring into space thoughtfully. After a long while of silences, Scarlett was almost glad that Jack walked in.

Almost.

"Kate. Scarlett," he said formally, barely even looking at Scarlett before turning to Kate with a look on his face that clearly said he meant business. "Kate, I really don't want to have this conversation with you again, but…"

"Jack," Kate groaned, rolling her eyes in an unconscious imitation of Sawyer. "I'm not moving to the caves, okay? I like it down here. I'm _staying _down here."

"It's safer at the caves," Jack countered automatically. Scarlett had a feeling that they had had this conversation many times before.

"Jack, I'm busy right now," Kate said before he could launch into a probably carefully-planned tirade. "Just…come back later if you're _not _going to try to talk to me about the caves."

Sawyer suddenly walked around the side of the shelter, hands shoved into pockets and whistling merrily.

"Later?" he asked, arching his eyebrows. "Sounds like an invitation to me, Freckles. I thought I was meeting you…later."

He flashed a heavily-dimpled grin in her direction, and she fought hard not to smile. Scarlett grinned openly. Jack just stood there and scowled.

"Can I help you?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips moodily. Sawyer glanced at him and shook his head.

"In case you hadn't noticed, this is Freckles' shelter. Unless you moved in or something in the past hour, then it's not yours. Let's use our common sense here, doc. I go to Freckles' shelter to see Freckles. I know you think the world revolves around you…"

"I'll see you later, Kate," Jack said sourly, starting to walk out, as Sawyer smilingly continued.

"…But there are some people on this island who don't spend their entire day bowing down to your greatness." When Jack turned and glared at him, Sawyer grinned sweetly. "Later, doc."

Jack turned and stalked away. There was a long, awkward silence. Then, a small snort of a laugh escaped from Scarlett's lips. Sawyer and Kate looked over at her and saw that Scarlett's face was turning red from the strain of not laughing. Sawyer chuckled as well, and Kate looked like she wanted to, but she managed to hold it in far better than Scarlett. Of course, she was actually trying.

"God, sometimes that man really bothers me," Scarlett said after a while, shaking her head. "He really does seem to think he owns the entire island." She shrugged and made a face irritably. "Just because he saved a few people, it doesn't mean he's some sort of friggin _God_."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," Sawyer said, shaking his head. "He seems to think that he's the savior of everyone on this goddamned island." He sighed and shook his head and turned to Kate, who looked slightly uncomfortable with the topic of discussion. "So, Freckles, I suppose you heard about Scarlett and Boone, so there was really no point in coming over here."

"How'd _you _find out?" Scarlett asked with a grin for her friend. Sawyer chuckled.

"Sticks stormed over to me earlier and started demanding that I tell her what was going on with you two," he said. "I figured, you know, that's a good sign of something going on." He grinned and shrugged. "Besides, me an' Metro have been planning this little hook-up for a while now. I'm just glad he actually got it to work."

Scarlett shook her head at the southern man and smiled.

"Sawyer actually does a good deed," she said sarcastically, looking in Kate's direction. "How shocking."

Sawyer made a face.

"Yeah, well…" he muttered, shrugging. "Don't get used to it or anything."

Scarlett and Kate both smiled slightly, and then Sawyer turned to go. Kate opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, and sighed slightly. She didn't notice that Scarlett was smiling at her knowingly.

"Later," Kate said, biting her lip.

"Bye, Sawyer," Scarlett said, raising her arm slightly to wave. She lay back down in the sand and chuckled to herself as Sawyer raised one hand over his head and waved sarcastically before walking out of sight. Scarlett turned to Kate and grinned slightly. Kate sighed.

"Sometimes I think we were all put on this island to suffer," she muttered darkly. Scarlett laughed.

"Kate, you wouldn't _be _suffering if you'd just _choose_," she pointed out good-naturedly. Kate sighed again.

"It's not that," she said thoughtfully. "I don't know, it's just all so hard…" She shook her head. "Every day, I'm absolutely petrified that someone will walk out of the woods, maimed or something, and we won't be able to save them. It's been a while since anyone's died, Scarlett…I don't want to have to go through that again."

Scarlett flinched slightly. Joanna was the last to die. She felt extremely guilty when she realized that she hadn't even thought about the woman in a while.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly. "Especially if it's someone we care about…we all know each other a hell of a lot better now. It'll be harder if we lose someone."

"Exactly," Kate said softly, running a hand through her hair. "I'd say that I hope it doesn't happen…but I know it's bound to, especially if we're here long enough."

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. She didn't really want to think about that. Not yet. Not when she was so happy. It was selfish and she knew it, but that didn't change anything. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Kate nodded.

"Right," she said. "There's no use in worrying about something that hasn't happened yet."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed, smiling sadly.

Suddenly, Steve burst into the shelter, looking out of breath and hurried.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, looking at the both of them, seeming slightly surprised to see Scarlett there. Scarlett had a feeling that he was expecting to see either Sawyer or Jack.

"What?" Kate asked, glancing at Scarlett. Scarlett knew what she was thinking. It would be beyond ironic and more than just slightly creepy if it turned out that someone had just died.

"Sawyer and Scott," Steve said, making a face. "Something happened and Sawyer just completely exploded on him and started beating the shit out of him!"

Both women heaved equal sighs of relief. Scott shot them odd looks, and they concealed their happiness that no one was dead.

"Let's go check it out," Kate said instead, and all three hurried out of the shelter.

* * *

_There was a loud, pounding knock on her door. Scarlett didn't move from the bed. She just continued sobbing into the pillow._

_"Scarlett, open the fucking door!" Anthony screamed. _

_"Go away!" Scarlett yelled, choosing to ignore him. The whole frame shuddered as Anthony slammed against the door. "Anthony! Anthony, stop!"_

_Scarlett jumped up just as the door flew open, and Anthony stormed in, his eyes blazing with an angry fire. _

_"Who the fuck do you think you are, Scarlett?" he asked, using her real name for the first time in forever. "You think you're so fucking special? You think you can lie about this stuff? Scarlett, you _lied_. You lied in fucking court!"_

_"Anthony, stop!" Scarlett sobbed, but Anthony wasn't satisfied. He grabbed her throat and pushed her back against the wall, slamming her head into the wood so hard that stars danced in front of her eyes and her vision began to swim. _

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" he sneered. "That accident was his fault. He wasn't paying attention and he drove into her and fucking _killed _her. He killed your mother. He killed _our _mother. And you let him fucking walk out of that courtroom like he didn't do shit."_

_He bent his face closer to hers and narrowed his eyes, sneering. _

_"Anthony…" Scarlett pleaded, frozen with the fright that came with seeing her brother like this. Anthony, who had always loved her no matter what she did._

_"If it was _anyone _else who killed her, Scarlett. If it was fucking _anyone_, you never would have stopped until they were locked away." His eyes bored into hers with a frightening intensity that she flinched away from. "So who's more important? _Him_, or her."_

_Scarlett stared at him, her eyes leaking with tears, uncertain of how to answer. But it didn't matter. He knew what her answer would be. So he reached out and slapped her, hard, then turned and strode out of the room, leaving Scarlett frozen behind him.

* * *

_

Sawyer and Scott were standing in the middle of a huge crowd of castaways, who were watching and looking like they weren't planning on intervening any time soon. When Kate and Scarlett arrived, they parted to let them past, as if they had enough authority over Scott and Sawyer to make them stop fighting.

"I swear to God I will kill you," Sawyer was practically screaming. Scott looked genuinely frightened.

"Look…" he started, but Sawyer pointed at him viciously.

"Do _not _say anything," he growled. "Give it to me now."

Scott threw something at Sawyer, and it landed in the space between them. It was a folded up piece of paper. The two women's eyes widened as they realized what it was.

"You're disgusting," Scott growled. "Fucking redneck."

With that, he turned and stormed out of the circle. Kate and Scarlett glanced at each other and then walked up to Sawyer as the crowd reluctantly started to disperse. Sawyer picked up the letter, dusting it off and muttering furiously to himself.

"What was that all about?" Kate asked, though it was clear she knew _exactly _what it was about.

"Scott says I dropped my letter and he found it," Sawyer replied with a growl. "I didn't drop it. I've never dropped it once in all the years that I've been carrying it around. Why the hell would I start now?"

"Maybe…" Kate started, but Sawyer shook his head.

"The damn boy took it out of my pocket," he said pointedly.  
"You don't know that…" Kate said slowly, looking wary, like she thought her words were going to set Sawyer off. Scarlett felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw that it was Boone. He grinned at her happily. Scarlett smiled back.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, planting a kiss on his lips. It felt slightly awkward and different, but it was almost a good awkward, and was definitely a good different.

"Mmm, hey," he said, hugging her tightly before pulling away and looking at her with a smile. "Locke said I should come back here. It's still relaxation day apparently."

"Really?" Scarlett asked with surprise. "Well that's good! The slave driver actually meant a whole day!"

Boone laughed and was about to respond when Sawyer's loud outburst caused them both to jump in surprise.

"Freckles, I'm tellin' you, he took it!"

They both turned towards Kate and Sawyer, who looked like they were about to burst with anger.

"Maybe we should…" Boone started, looking at Scarlett uncertainly.

"This is between them, Boone," Scarlett laughed. "Let's get out of here before they start hitting each other."

She knew that Boone didn't understand, but Sawyer's explosion was about much more than Scott taking his letter. It was about Jack and Kate and their relationship, which probably frustrated Sawyer more than anything on the island; the fact that, for once in his life, he wasn't able to get the woman he wanted by just smiling at her and showing off his dimples. But Scarlett saw through it all. Sawyer's mask had too many holes for someone like her, who was an experienced mask-maker herself.

"Where we gonna go?" Boone asked, looking back at Kate and Sawyer nervously as he draped an arm across Scarlett's shoulders in an almost protective fashion that made a small smile come to Scarlett's lips. She leaned against him.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe we'd better start thinking about that shelter."

"Yeah," Boone agreed. "That might be useful. You think we could bother Sawyer for a tarp?"

"I don't think he has any extras," Scarlett replied, biting her lip as she thought. Boone nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm sure there's something we could use. Either that or we could just use some of those palm boughs, like I did back at the other place."

"Yeah, that would work," Scarlett said, smiling. Boone looked down at her and grinned, shaking his head slightly.

"Do you realize what we're talking about?" he said incredulously. "We're talking about building a shelter on a deserted island. A shelter. Together. And all this has changed in one day."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a grin. "It's weird…but I like it."

"Me too," Boone said quickly. "It's like…something to do."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed thoughtfully. "It is."

She smiled at him, and they continued walking back to their belongings.

* * *

They stayed together that whole day, hardly separating unless one of them had to go to the bathroom. By the time the sunset, everyone on the beach knew that Scarlett and Boone were the first official couple on the island. Sawyer won the bet of three tubes of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, and four notebooks from the other men, who had been betting on the first two to make it. No one but Kate knew that he had cheated, and he handed over a tube of his winnings to keep her mouth shut.

Though the castaways all around them were whispering rumors and judging how long it would last, the two lovebirds didn't appear to notice any of it. They were just talking in low voices, occasionally laughing out loud. It was cute, but a lot of castaways were uneasy. Island romances could only mean that things were getting a little more permanent.

* * *

When the sun had set, and everyone had returned to their sleeping spots, Scarlett and Boone sat up by the fire, their arms wrapped around each other, watching the dancing flames. Both of their thoughts were elsewhere, but they took comfort in the other's presence. After a long while of utter silence, Boone finally spoke.

"Shannon asked me about us," he said slowly. Scarlett glanced at him with a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"Really?" she said. "And I imagine that went _horribly_?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Boone said, grinning nervously. He was trying to build up the confidence he would need to tell her about he and Shannon and how he still felt something for her. It wasn't going too well. He bit his lip nervously and decided that he'd tell her later. It couldn't hurt to put it off for a little longer.

"What did she say?" Scarlett asked casually, glancing at him with a smile. Boone almost thought about telling her then, but couldn't gather the courage to do it.

"Just the same old stuff," Boone replied, shrugging. "She was ranting about how I should tell her these things so she wouldn't have to go ask Sawyer about them, and about how she should have some say in it or something. All stupid stuff, she wasn't making much sense."

"Wow…apparently she doesn't like me too much," Scarlett remarked, looking slightly hurt.

"No, no, no, she likes you," Boone said quickly. "She's just mad because I didn't tell her about anything, and I told Sawyer. She thinks I should tell her."

"Yeah, because she just _ran _to you to tell you all about she and Sayid," Scarlett said sarcastically. Boone laughed.

"Yeah, really," he said, shaking his head. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You wanna turn in now? I'm getting a little tired, and we'll be up at the crack of dawn again anyway."

"Yeah, sure," Scarlett said with a small smile. "Night, Boone."

"Night, Scarlett," Boone whispered, and this time when he wrapped his arms around her, he wasn't dreaming of anyone but her.

* * *

_"What's wrong with him?"_

_"Is he gonna be okay?"_

_Scarlett opened her eyes and saw a crowd gathered in front of her. She looked around and noticed that she didn't recognize anyone. However, she knew that these were survivors from her flight. _

_"What's going on?" she asked them, as they all seemed to be staring at her quite rudely. They didn't answer, just stared at her silently, their faces devoid of all emotion. She turned around and saw that she was standing at the base of a mountain. She looked up, and the mountain seemed to stretch on forever._

_"Help me!" _

_Scarlett jumped in surprise. It was Claire! She started running through the trees, up the mountain. Behind her she heard the survivors screaming at her to stop. They told her that she'd never make it. But she would. She would make it no matter what._

_"He's dying!" someone's voice screeched in her ear. "Girly, come back!"_

_She just pushed on towards the screaming voice, and suddenly burst into a clearing where there was a figure standing in the middle. _

_"Help me!" the figure screamed, writhing against chains that held them down._

_"Claire!" Scarlett exclaimed, running towards her friend. But suddenly, as she approached, the petite yet pregnant form of Claire transformed into Stephen's tall, thin frame. He turned to face Scarlett with a horrifying smile, and she screamed wildly, backing up swiftly._

_"I told you, Scar," he said to her, his voice deep and demonic as he loomed over her darkly, casting a shadow on her. "I told you you needed me."_

_"No," she whispered fearfully, backing away as swiftly as she could. He just took a step forward, and then another, and another, until he was standing over her and looking down._

_"Yes," he answered simply, and suddenly there was a knife in his hand. He held it above her with a crazed smile, his eyes glinting insanely. They seemed to burn and suddenly Scarlett realized that she didn't see her reflection in his eyes, but instead saw Boone's frightened face. _

_"No!" screamed a voice from behind Scarlett, and both she and Stephen turned to look at who it was. Scarlett was quite surprised to see Anthony standing there, holding a gun out towards him with a deadly calm. Stephen just stared at him as if unsure of what to make of all this. _

_"What the fuck are you doing here, asshole?" Stephen asked rudely, sneering at Anthony darkly. _

_"I'm not going to let you hurt her," Anthony replied stonily. "Not again. Not anymore."_

_Scarlett lay there and watched as the two of them faced off, each trying to stare the other down. Neither moved for so long a moment that it felt surreal. Then, Stephen glanced at her, and that was the only opportunity Anthony needed. He raised the gun and fired, and the world went black as Stephen fell to the ground.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a start, eyes flying open, wide and frightened. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and thought she would be back in her apartment in Sydney. When she found herself lying safe in another man's arms in the sand with palm trees all around, she thought she was in Heaven. But then it all regrettably came back to her, and she sighed heavily.

No, she wasn't in Heaven. She was on Earth and although she was with Boone, Claire was still missing, there was still a jungle fiend, and she was still having really weird and freaky dreams. Great.

Still, there was Boone. She rolled over, carefully to not disturb him, and faced his chest. He mumbled slightly but remained in the same position, only shifting a very little bit as if he knew that Scarlett was awake and looking for shelter from the monsters in her nightmares.

Smiling at the thought of Boone riding a white horse with shining white armor on his body, Scarlett closed her eyes and fell into a deep and blissfully dreamless sleep.

* * *

When she awoke the next morning, she felt like absolute shit. Her headache was pounding, right on schedule, and her stomach was aching dully. She fought the urge to groan and rested back against Boone, making a face as her head throbbed angrily in response.

"Shit," she muttered angrily, running a hand across her forehead. That hurt.

She slowly disentangled herself from Boone's loving embrace, however reluctantly, and got to her feet, sighing heavily. Apparently her little cold wasn't gone after all. Though honestly…who caught a cold on a tropical island? No, it had to be something else. Maybe a stomach bug or something.

She sighed. Who cared? She just knew that it was bothering the shit out of her and she wanted it to go away. She had been sleeping more often, her stress level, though still high, was a lot lower, she had been eating right…so why the hell was it still hanging around?

For a brief moment there was a stab of fear. What if it was something more serious? A jungle fever or something? She shuddered at the thought. She was afraid of the unknown, more than anything. Afraid of the dark, of deep water, of forests like the one she was currently standing fifty feet away from…anything that she couldn't see into, or couldn't see all of frightened her, because she never knew what was inside. A jungle fever followed the same principles. She didn't know what the symptoms were and how serious it could be…so it scared her shitless. But Scarlett, being Scarlett, was just too stubborn to admit that maybe there was something to be scared about. She was going to maintain that everything was fine until she found real cause for worry.

So, acting like she wasn't about to throw up, she walked over to the water tarp and filled her water bottle, taking a few sips and wishing she had something with at least a little taste in it. She wondered if there was a way to do that. If there was, Sun would know how to do it. That woman knew how to do everything.

Scarlett smiled and put down the water on that thought, not feeling any better but not really wanting to be standing up anymore. She laid back down beside Boone, letting him unconsciously wrap his arms around her like she knew he would. He nuzzled his face into her hair.

"Good morning," he murmured sleepily.

"Morning," she replied in a quiet voice, smiling at him.

"Locke around yet?" Boone asked, still not opening his eyes.

"Nope," Scarlett replied contentedly.

"Sweet," Boone mumbled with a laugh, tightening his hold on her. She laughed as well and nuzzled into him, yawning and managing not to flinch. "I suppose we'll just stay here then?"

"Sounds good," Scarlett said with a content sigh, closing her eyes and letting the comforting feeling of being held start to soothe her pounding headache.

* * *

About an hour later, Locke came to collect them, and they were forced to struggle to their feet tiredly. The older man laughed heartily at the sight of the two youngsters grumbling crankily as they walked towards him, their hair disheveled and their red eyes half-closed. They looked like something out of a horror movie; two zombies staggering across a lonely beach.

"I don't see what's so funny," Scarlett muttered unhappily as they reached Locke, glaring at him.

"Oh, nothing," Locke said, shaking his head and still laughing quietly. "You ready yet?"

"Whatever," Boone mumbled, and Locke wasn't sure that he had even heard the question. He chuckled again and started walking briskly into the trees. After a moment, the two younger people followed him, the darkness swallowing them up like a protective curtain.

* * *

_"Scarlett!" _

_Scarlett sighed and closed her eyes, letting the tears squeeze out from between her lashes. _

_"What?" she asked, trying to keep the tremors out of her voice that would expose her tears. _

_"Come on, Scarlett, open the door," came Stephen's voice, harsh and cold._

_"Why are you here?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her crying this time. The uncharacteristic anger in his voice frightened her. It was like this day made everyone's worst colors come out, and it terrified her. _

_"Scarlett, just open the fucking door! We have to talk!"_

_Scarlett stood up slowly and shuffled over to the front door, looking like a child who had just been scolded. She opened the door slowly, and barely had time to move out of the way before he shoved the door open with his shoulder, glaring at her. _

_"Stephen, stop," she said fearfully, backing up as he moved towards her, looking menacing. He grabbed her shoulders, and rather than hitting her like she thought he was going to, he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. _

_When he pulled back from the kiss, he kept his hands on the side of her face and gazed at her lovingly. _

_"Thank you," he whispered, tears filling his wide eyes. "Oh, God, Scarlett. Thank you."_

_He kissed her again, and Scarlett felt the corners of her mouth twitching up into a smile as she soaked in his gratitude. She knew then that despite Anthony's anger, and despite the doubts that she had been feeling, she had truly done the right thing.

* * *

_

They didn't go to the hatch right away, but instead walked to the caves, where almost everyone was still asleep. The only person who was up and about was Walt. When he saw Locke and Boone and Scarlett, his face brightened immediately, and he hurried over to them, bringing Vincent behind him on the leash.

"Mr. Locke!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. "Where you goin'?"

"We're going off to hunt," Locke said with a small smile for the younger boy.

"Can I come too?" Walt asked eagerly. Locke looked like he was about to say no, but then he sighed and smiled.

"How about this," he said, bending down to Walt's level and looking him in the eye, taking one of the folding knives from his pocket. "I think we can take some time off so I can teach you how to use this."

Walt's face immediately lit up, and he looked at the knife with a childlike thirst for knowledge that Scarlett knew all too well. She smiled slightly at him, while Locke smiled as well and beckoned to the boy. The four of them walked out of the caves silently, careful not to wake anyone up.

"Where are we going?" Walt asked, smiling offhand at Scarlett as they walked.

"Just up here a little," Locke replied. "I know the perfect place to teach you."

"Cool," Walt said with a smile. He followed Locke into the trees, while Scarlett and Boone walked slightly slower behind. Scarlett was doing her hair and Boone was following behind her, his eyes barely open.

"His dad's going to freak out," he remarked to Scarlett when Locke and Walt were far enough ahead.

"You think?" Scarlett asked, turning to look at him as she wrapped the elastic around her ponytail one last time.

"Yeah," Boone said, nodding as he walked slightly faster to catch up with her. "I don't think he likes John too much."

"Not many people seem to," Scarlett remarked, making a face. "I'm not sure why."

"Me neither," Boone agreed. They walked on for a little while in silence, until Locke and Walt reached the spot that Locke had been looking for. He turned back to look at the two younger people and shook his head with a smile.

"You finally decided to join us, I see," he remarked mockingly. Scarlett flipped him off, but smiled. He laughed, and Walt did too. Then, Locke turned to the younger boy.

"Now," he said. "Are you ready to learn?"

* * *


	49. Special Part 3

Oh my gosh, I'm so tired! There was this huge bonfire at my school tonight and yeah…let's just say one of my rather attractive male friends was a little overexcited and kept hugging me rather tightly and picking me up and running away with me. It was fun…but quite tiring! So now I'm utterly exhausted!

For those of you that I didn't tell, I got a blog now! Which means I don't have to rant here anymore, cus you can just go there if you want to listen to it! It's at greatestjournal(dot)com, and my name is the same there as it is here. It's a wicked cool site; like livejournal only cooler because it lets you have 2000 icons instead of only 3, and it has free photo hosting! It's a sweet thing, and you guys should check it out! we could have like a ring of reviewers! It would be fun!

Anyway, on to the chapter! And who else thinks that review reply thing is totally cool? But for those of you who don't have names, your thanks are below!

**JamesPovey:** I know! I take sooo long to update! I really need to start getting these things up faster, and I believe that I will, thanks to this review reply thingy they have going on, that way I can reply right after they send their reviews, and I don't have to block off a half hour to reply! So hopefully I'll be faster :)  
Kate and Scarlett's convo came from a little daydream that I had of like a ten years later sort of scenario, and I thought it would be a cute addition to the chapter, hehehe. And it's Scott who dies in Homecoming, and he was fighting Sawyer, so that's still pretty twisted! Hahaha.  
Dude, your Do No Harm idea is sweet! That would make for a really dramatic death, and Scarlett probably wouldn't ever forgive Jack for that one! Hehe, thanks for the review!

**Tawney:** Yay! You think I update fast! And I thought I was slacking! Hahaha. Well…you find out the cause for Scarlett's headaches in Outlaws, episode 16, I believe. Maybe? Hahaha. Thanks for the review!

**LetItBe:** I'm glad you're not too lazy to review! That's a good thing! And I feel the busy pain! I've been extremely busy myself, lately. AP classes cracking down! Ahhh, the pressure! Hehehe! I'm glad that you liked Boone standing up to Shannon! Im sure he'll have to do it again at one point! Thanks for reviewing!

**Josslyn:** Hahaha, Jack and Sawyer conversation was so much fun to write. I hate how Jack's always acting like he owns everything, and how he always assumes that someone's looking for him. Stupid man! I absolutely HATE him! Hahaha.  
I could definitely see Sawyer betting on something like a couple, hahha. And I could even more clearly see him giving something to Kate to keep her mouth shut! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Special (3): **Knives

About twenty minutes later, Walt was starting to get the hang of the whole knife-throwing thing. Scarlett was lounging comfortably on the ground with her back against a tree as Boone stood over her, leaning against it sideways and watching the sight in front of him emotionlessly. Vincent was tied to a tree nearby, and kept whining incessantly.

Walt threw the knife, and it hit the tree but didn't stick, instead bouncing off the bark and landing too close to Scarlett for comfort. She backed up further, closer to Boone, which neither of them minded.

"Man, I suck," Walt proclaimed decisively. Locke chuckled slightly.

"You can do better than that," he told the younger boy. Boone arched an eyebrow.

"You might wanna take it easy on him," he said tiredly. Locke just looked at him and grinned, shaking his head as if saying 'yeah, right'.

Scarlett handed Locke the knife, and he pointed it towards a knot in the tree that was rather pronounced. He looked to Walt, who was staring reverently.

"See this knot, Walt?" he said. Walt nodded. "I want you to aim for it. Right here." He tapped the knot with the tip of the knife and looked back at Walt again. Walt's eyes were focused on the knot. "Focus on it, all right? Picture it in your mind's eye." He walked towards Walt again. "You know what that is, right? 'The Mind's Eye'?"

"Like a picture in your head," Walt said, sounding uncertain.

"That's right," Locke said, smiling with fatherly pride at the boy. "Now do it again. But…see it." He handed the knife back to Walt and gave him a knowing look. "See it before you do it. Visualize the path." Walt turned and turned his gaze upon the tree. "See it. See it."

Walt narrowed his eyes at the tree, drawing his arm back to throw. Vincent whined again. Walt threw the knife and it slammed right into the center of the knot. Boone stared at it, eyes wide. Scarlett gaped.

"Whoa," they both said, equally stunned.

"Yes!" Walt exclaimed happily as Locke walked over to the tree with a broad smile.

"I knew you had it in you, Walt," he said as he pulled the knife out of the tree.

"It was weird!" Walt exclaimed. "I actually saw it in my mind or something…like it was real!"

"Who's to say it wasn't?" Locke replied in typical Locke fashion. Scarlett turned her head up to look at Boone, and they both smiled, chuckling slightly under their breath. Locke smiled at the both of them and started to hand the knife back to Walt.

Suddenly, a deep voice cut out of the jungle. "Hey!"

Scarlett jumped in surprise and quickly staggered to her feet. Boone put a hand on her back reassuringly, noticing her shoulders sag with relief when she saw that it was only Michael, looking very pissed off about his son playing with knives. Boone wasn't sure what Scarlett thought it had been, but he was glad it wasn't.

"Shit," he whispered to her. She nodded, sending him a flinching glance.

"What the hell is going on?" Michael asked, spreading his arms wide. When he saw Walt holding the knife, he scowled bitterly. "Give me that!" he exclaimed, snatching it away.

"But…I was…" Walt began, but Michael never gave him the chance to finish.

"Take Vincent and go back to camp," the older man said, pointing roughly in the right direction. Walt sighed.

"But Mr. Locke was…"

"_Now_, little man!" Michael exclaimed. Scarlett glanced at Boone sadly. Poor Walt looked very dejected. He turned and untied Vincent, casting one last sad glance towards the group of people gathered at the tree, and headed back towards camp with his shoulders sagging. Michael waited until he was out of sight before he turned to face Locke, looking down at the knife in his hands.

"You gave my boy a knife," he said shortly.

Locke started, "You should have seen what…"

"Don't tell me what I should have seen, man!" Michael yelled. "If we were back home, I'd call the police on your ass! Encouraging a kid to sneak away from his parent, giving him a knife like this?"

"Michael…" Scarlett started, but Locke held up a hand that indicated that this was his battle and his alone.

"Walt knows his own mind," he said slowly. Michael gave him a look that was one of absolute disgust, and he pointed the knife in the other man's face. Locke looked mildly surprised, and he put his hands into the air and took a step back.

"Umm…" Scarlett said, flinching. Things were definitely taking a turn for the worst. Boone frowned, looking slightly malevolent.

"Hey," Michael said to Locke. "Don't talk to me about my son like you know him!"

"You really need to calm down," Locke said calmly. Scarlett wanted to scream at him to stop being so goddamned confident. Michael wasn't seeming too stable, and sounding cocky was probably the last thing he should be doing.

"You keep playing my son against me," Michael said warningly. "And I'm gonna have a…"

He was interrupted as Boone unexpectedly flung himself at Michael and tackled him to the ground. Michael dropped the knife, and Boone grabbed it, holding it over Michael's face.

"The man said clam down," Boone said with a deadly quiet that surprised Scarlett. Michael glared at him for a few seconds, chest heaving, and then punched Boone hard in the side of the face. Scarlett moved towards him instinctively, but was pushed out of the way as Michael grabbed the knife that Boone had dropped, rolling over on top of Boone and holding the knife at his face. Scarlett felt a stab of fear and started forward again, but Locke held her back.

"What are you, his attack dog?" Michael asked tauntingly. Scarlett's muscles tensed. She was ready to intervene if things got dirty. Thankfully, Locke felt that it was finally time to break it up, and he pulled Michael off Boone. Scarlett hurried to Boone and helped him to his feet.

"Easy, easy, easy," Locke said slowly, looking pissed off. "You're the one who was waving the knife around. He was just trying to make sure you didn't hurt someone."

Michael glared at Boone, who held a hand up to his cheek, wincing slightly.

"Let me see," Scarlett said, pulling his hand away and gently taking a look.

"Michael," Locke started in a patronizing voice. "I know it's been difficult to bond with your son. You know why he's formed an attachment to me?" He looked at Michael questioningly, but the other man didn't have anything to say. "Because I treat him like an adult, and you still treat him like a boy."

"He's ten years old!" Michael exclaimed.

"He's been through more than most people in their entire lifetimes. You haven't spent enough time with him to see it, but he's different."

Scarlett happened to glance at Michael right when that was said, and noticed the abrupt change in the expression on his face. Suddenly, he looked almost…scared.

"What did you say?" he asked Locke, eyes wide. Locke pretty much ignored him.

"And we're not back home, Michael," he continued. "As long as we're here, I think Walt should be allowed to realize his potential."

Scarlett bit her lip and turned back to Boone, her fingers tracing the spot on his cheek that seemed a little redder than the rest. Michael and Locke stood glaring at each other for a while, then Michael glanced over at Scarlett and Boone. They both stared back; with Scarlett's hands on Boone's face unmoving, like two deer caught in headlights. Michael looked back at Locke.

"Stay away from my son," he said bitterly. "And me."

With that, he turned and walked into the trees, leaving the three of them standing frozen in the middle of the clearing.

* * *

After Michael was gone, they once again headed to the hatch, where they spent the day sitting there and staring at it, coming up with different ideas as to what it might be and how to get in. Though it seemed like only a few hours, by the time Boone glanced at his watch, it was nearly four o'clock.

"Hey, guys," he remarked to Locke and Scarlett who were in the middle of a heated discussion about digging deeper to see if it was actually led anywhere, or if it was just a big piece of metal lying on the ground.

"What?" Locke asked.

"It's almost four," Boone replied. "Shouldn't we start heading back?"

"How about we stay here for the night instead," Locke said casually. Scarlett and Boone stared at him as if he were crazy.

"Wait…what?" Scarlett asked him, eyebrows raised.

"We can't stay here," Boone said quickly. "What about that thing in the woods. What about the Others?"

"We've been out here late before, and nothing's happened," Locke replied. "And that thing…we haven't heard of it in a few weeks. Maybe it's migrated to the other side of the island for something."

"You think?" Scarlett asked, frowning. "Why?"

"Well, judging by Charlie's description of the pilot in the tree…it evidently didn't like the taste of humans all that much," Locke replied, chuckling slightly.

"But we can't stay here," Boone said as if he were talking to a child. Scarlett shook her head.

"We can't," she agreed. "People will be wondering where we are. They'll be looking for us."

"No they won't," Locke argued. "We always come back after dark, and by that time, everyone's sleeping, or at least trying to. No one will even notice that we're gone."

The thought frightened Scarlett to no end. Something horrible could happen to the three of them in the woods. They could be killed or taken hostage or knocked unconscious, and no one would even notice for a long time. She looked at Boone uneasily. He seemed to be having the same thoughts, because he frowned slightly and tried to shuffle closer to her without her noticing. She smiled, feeling somewhat reassured.

"Something could still happen to us out here," Boone said slowly. "Someone could come to get us…like…" he stopped. They both knew what he was about to say, but somehow saying it made it worse. So he didn't say it. He just went to a different topic, knowing that he made the point well enough that they could be kidnapped like Charlie and Claire. "Or we could be attacked by animals, or that thing, even though we haven't seen it for a while. It doesn't mean that it's gone, you know."

Locke nodded and turned to Scarlett, seeing the uneasiness on her face as well.

"Nothing's going to happen," he said firmly. Scarlett and Boone glanced at each other uneasily, knowing full well that Locke usually knew exactly what he was talking about, and knowing that his stubbornness was almost equal to that correctness.

* * *

It was only when it got dark that Scarlett really started to get scared. Locke started a fire and instructed her to keep it burning while he and Boone went to their stash; a collection of water and a few blankets that they kept hidden a little ways away from the hatch. Locke claimed it was just in case one of them got hurt. Scarlett had a feeling that he had been planning the little overnight trip for a while; though she still didn't really understand why he wanted them to stay there for the night so damn badly.

As soon as they were gone, she moved as close to the fire as she could get without burning herself, listening to the steady, comforting crackle. There was no other noise all around her, but she listened carefully for some. The telltale snap of a twig, or the unnatural growl of that _thing_. There weren't even any bats or anything.

Without knowing what she was doing, she began to lightly sing to herself. She wasn't singing loud enough for the lyrics to be discerned by listeners, but the tune lightly traveled through the trees and caught the attentions of Boone and Locke, who were just bending down to take the supplies out from the hole under the tree root where it was stored. Both of them froze for an instant, but smiled when they heard that it was only her singing.

"She has a beautiful voice, you know," Locke remarked as they covered the hole back up with leaves.

"Really?" Boone asked. "You've heard her?"

"Yeah," Locke said, running a hand over the top of his head. "She was singing for Charlie. Didn't see me standing nearby. She's…amazing."

He laughed and shook his head, and Boone smiled to himself as they kept walking back towards the camp. The singing became louder and louder, but then suddenly stopped. Boone's eyebrows drew together in concern.

"Scarlett?" he called nervously.

"Yeah?" her voice came back in reply, and he could have sworn that she was crying. But then they got closer, and she was sitting at the fire, looking perfectly content. Boone frowned slightly, knowing that she was hiding something. He decided that he would find out later, though he already had a pretty good idea about what was bothering her; Claire.

"Just checking," he said with a grin as he and Locke walked into camp with the blankets. Scarlett smiled at him and moved over on the log she had pulled up to the fire so he could sit beside her. "We heard you singing," he remarked with a smile for her. She blushed fiercely.

"Oh," she said quietly, looking down at the ground. "Oops. I didn't think anyone could hear."

"It sounded great," Boone assured her, smiling and handing her a water bottle. He sat down beside her. "From what we could hear, anyway." He paused. "What were you singing?"

Scarlett flushed and looked down at the ground, poking the fire with a stick absently.

"Just…some song I had a dream about the other night."

"What song would that be?" Boone asked. Locke took a seat across the fire and watched the two of them with a smile on his face.

"Everything I Do, by Bryan Adams," she replied in a quiet sort of voice. "I dreamed that Carol was singing it to me…and…uh…I was singing it too."

"Well there's nothing wrong with that," Boone said, wondering why she was so embarrassed about it.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. She felt like an idiot for getting so flustered about it, but she couldn't very well tell him that _he _had been singing it to her in the dream. Not yet, anyway.

"You should sing it again," Boone said, smiling at her sweetly. "For me. So I can hear it."

She looked down at the ground, blushing again. Truth be told, singing reminded her of her mother, considering that Lucy was the one who had taught her and inspired the passion for music within her. She remembered when she was little, and she would sing for her mother and Mark and Anthony, always looking at Anthony and not at her step-father. Anthony would always smile brightly at her the entire time, though most boys his age would have looked away and asked if he could leave.

She smiled to herself thinking about that; about the good times. And thinking of that made her want to sing.

* * *

She sang for them long into the night. It was the first time she had ever just sung for fun since her mother died. The only times she ever sang were if she was competing, if she was comforting someone, or if she was telling someone what a certain song was. But this time it was just because they kept wanting to hear more. There was no purpose other than to pass the time and enjoy themselves.

Boone listened to her the entire time with a wide smile on his face. She sang beautifully, but not only that; he felt as if she were singing to him. It was a silly assumption to make, since she was probably singing about that Stephen guy anyway, he figured. Still, it seemed as if every song she sang was about him. He liked to pretend that it was. If he had paid more attention to the facial expressions she wore while singing, he might have realized that he didn't even have to pretend after all.

* * *

After they all got too tired to sing and listen anymore, they just sat there and stared at the fire. Boone and Scarlett moved to sit under a tree, and he sat with his back against it as she sat in front of him, leaning back against his chest sleepily. Locke grinned at them.

"I'll take first watch," he said easily, tossing them two blankets. They wrapped themselves up and returned to their positions, settling down until they were comfortable. Locke watched them with a slight smile on his face, delighting in the knowledge that they were so happy because of him. There was nothing better in the world, in his opinion, than knowing that you've improved someone's life.

As he walked into the trees to get some more wood, Scarlett turned her head slightly so she could look at Boone. His eyes were firmly on the fire, but when he felt the movement, he turned to glance at her, a smile spreading over his handsome features.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, making a face. "Scared as hell, but relatively okay."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her and put his chin on top of her head.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm here, and I'm not going to let _anything _happen to you."

She smiled to herself and snuggled into him, welcoming the security that his arms offered. The last thing that she heard before she drifted off to sleep was Boone, humming 'Everything I Do' in a thoughtful tone.

* * *

_Scarlett's eyes flew open, and she saw that she was alone in the clearing. It was bright and sunny, and the fire nearby was completely burnt out. She shook the blankets off of her and stretched, her back cracking audibly. _

_"Boone?" she called out curiously, bending down and picking up a water bottle. "John?"_

_There was no answer. She sighed and put down the water after taking a sip, yawning and looking around for any signs of tracks. Spotting two sets of footprints moving into the trees, she smiled victoriously and walked alongside them, through the underbrush._

_She walked on until both sets suddenly stopped. She was standing in another clearing. This one had a stream in the middle of it. The sunlight shone in through the trees and sparkled in the water, making it glitter beautifully. Scarlett smiled and walked towards it, peering down._

_Suddenly, she screamed. Blood stained the water that had been clear only a moment before. It drifted lazily along, as if it weren't so gruesome and horrific. _

_"Boone?" Scarlett called, more frantic this time. "John?"_

_No sound other than the soft trickle of moving water met her ears, so she followed the stream grimly, looking for where the blood was coming from. She called Boone's name again, and only succeeded in scaring a bird out of a nearby bush. She walked faster._

_As she walked, she saw something lying in the stream. The blood was drifting off of it. She scrambled down the bank and towards it. It was a person, she was sure of it. The person was horribly mangled, almost beyond recognition…but she knew without a doubt that it was Boone._

_She screamed.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a surprised jolt, her mouth half-open to scream before she realized that it was dark out, and she was still lying against the tree in Boone's arms. She sighed heavily with relief and her breathing gradually slowed. She looked over towards the fire and noticed that Locke was staring into it. He hadn't noticed that she was awake, and she didn't want him to, so she closed her eyes once again, listening to Boone's heartbeat close in her ear, and the hearty crackle of the fire.

With a smile on her face, trying to forget the horrible dream she'd just had, she drifted slowly off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Scarlett awoke to find herself lying on her side, with a blanket over her. She yawned and sat up reluctantly. Boone was sitting at the dwindling fire, eyelids drooping. Locke was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Scarlett joked, standing up and stretching with another wide yawn.

"Hey," Boone replied sleepily, grinning at her.

"How come no one woke me up for my watch last night?" she asked teasingly, knowing exactly what had happened. Boone had taken two watches because he wanted her to get some sleep.

"Umm…" he began, looking like he was going to try and lie his way out of it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said, shaking her head. "Come on, over here. _You _are going to sleep."

"No, I'm okay," Boone replied, and Scarlett could see the inward battle he was fighting, trying not to yawn.

"Uh huh," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on. Would it _kill _you to think of yourself for once?" She smirked at him and pulled him to his feet. "Besides, you can't very well protect me when you're half-asleep, can you?"

He laughed tiredly and rubbed his eyes.

"Guess not," he mumbled. Scarlett thought it was sad that the only time he did something good for himself was if it benefited others as well. She started to say something about it, but stopped and decided against it. He probably knew he was doing it anyway.

"Come on," she said to him gently. "It's time for you to sleep."

"All right," he said with a heavy sigh. "Not for long, though."

"No, not for long," Scarlett agreed. "I'll wake you up in an hour."

Boone nodded and lay down on the blankets from the night before, using one as a pillow, and he closed his eyes. Judging by the change in his breathing, it only took about three minutes before he was fast asleep.

* * *

Approximately one hour later, Locke came out of the trees, humming merrily as he tossed Scarlett a piece of fruit and bit into one himself.

"Mango," he proclaimed with a full mouth, and Scarlett laughed before taking a bite of it herself.

"Don't wake him up," she ordered Locke, pointing to Boone's soundly sleeping form. "He barely slept last night. He didn't wake me up for my watch…took two instead."

"He's a protector," Locke remarked simply. "He likes to be needed. It's against his nature to let you sit up all alone in the middle of the night with nothing but a fire and his snores to comfort you." He smiled at her and made off into the trees again, leaving Scarlett to think about his words.

* * *

Three hours after that, Boone woke up, gazing around drowsily.

"Hey," he murmured, seeing Scarlett kneeling in front of the hatch, looking down at it with very little focus. When he spoke, her head snapped up with surprise, and she smiled at him slightly.

"Good morning," she said sweetly, getting to her feet and moving over to him as he sat up and stretched. "Have a nice sleep?"

"Very nice," Boone said, putting the frightening dream he'd just had to the back of his mind. "What time is it?"

Scarlett grinned devilishly as he glanced at his watch and looked back up at her with surprise written on his face.

"Around…" she started, but he interrupted.

"Four hours?" he said, shaking his head. "Where's Locke?"

"Back at camp," Scarlett replied. "He said we could take today off too. He seems to be running out of ideas about what to do with this thing."

She glared at the offending metal door as if it were the source of all her problems.

"Well, that means more sleep," Boone said wryly, glaringly pouting in her direction. She laughed and shook her head.

"You are the biggest _baby _I've ever met," she said playfully, smirking at him.

"No, I think that title goes to Sawyer," Boone replied. "He's the most whiny man I've ever known."

Scarlett laughed and helped Boone gather up the blankets. They grabbed their bags and headed back to camp, first distributing the blankets under the tree.

* * *

They got about halfway there when they came across Locke, who was sitting and carving a figure out of wood. When he saw them, he smiled brightly.

"There you two are," he said in greeting. "Let's head back to camp before people start noticing that we didn't come back."

Scarlett and Boone glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. Then, they followed the older man along the path that was starting to form thanks to their constant travel over it.

"So did you get any new ideas?" Boone asked conversationally. "About the hatch, I mean."

"No," Locke said, still smiling. "I'll take some time to think. I'm sure something will come up."

"I'm sure," Scarlett said in an assuring tone, though she wasn't all that sure that there _was _a way to get in there. The most that they could do was try to dig it out, but Locke knew that, so she didn't say anything else. She just walked on slowly, trying not to let her thoughts wander to places that they shouldn't have been going, like onto Claire. That was a very taboo subject as far as her mind was concerned; it would always lead to bad things.

Boone seemed to notice that she was teetering on the edge of sadness, and he grinned at her happily, draping an arm across her shoulders. That one simple movement brightened her mood more than anything could, and she walked along happily with her friends.


	50. Special Part 4

Ugh, I know, I'm a horrible person. I really totally lost track of time and still thought that I had time before I had to update! Ugh! What a failure!

There was a very sad lack of reviews this time, though I don't blame people of course. It just made me sad.

Thanks to those who did review though! You guys are amazing! Those who I haven't already replied to are down below!

**James Povey:** I love doing stuff from the show, so I'm glad to be back to a point where I can! Hahaha. I have some plans for season two, though they're not completely finalized yet. Hahaha, and don't worry about the season 2 overload, I definitely have it too! In English today I was writing out my outline for season 2; slightly ambitious considering I'm not even finished with episode 15 yet! A island history flashback would have been cool, though I'm glad it's not because now there's no Scarlett dilemma! Hahaha. And Eko's flashback should be sweet! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tasha:** I'm glad you caught up! Hahaha. Must have taken you a reallllly long time! This is quite the looong story! About Boone…well, that's a surprise :) or maybe :(, depending on what I decide! Thanks for taking the time to read this whole thing! It really means a lot to me :) Thanks for the review, too!

* * *

**Special (4):** Found

By the time they reached the caves, it was almost noon. They were discussing the possibilities of there being another way into the hatch as they walked in, but Shannon started walking towards them purposefully. Locke and Scarlett swiftly moved to the other side of the caves. John put his backpack down, and Scarlett moved over to the waterfall, pulling a water bottle out of her bag.

"Hi," she heard Shannon say. "So are you guys just gonna keep coming back…"

The rest was lost to her ears as Shannon's voice dipped lower. She sighed and turned to face the waterfall.

"Hey, Scarlett."

Scarlett turned around and saw Jeff smiling at her.

"Oh, hey, Jeff!" Scarlett exclaimed. "How've you been? I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"I know," Jeff said, sighing. "I spend most of my time here or at the golf course with Eddie. How come you're never there?"

"I'm out hunting most of the time," Scarlett answered. "Which sucks because, you know, it's hard to find the boars these days."

"Yeah, people are getting pretty pissed that you guys aren't finding anything. I mean…personally, I understand. The boars are probably noticing that they're getting killed, so they're going to want to take off. Still, just…other people…you know."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding. "You're right though, they're just scared. I think giving them time to kind of…regroup would be good, because they'll head back over here instead of God knows where." She laughed slightly and shrugged. "Though personally I'm okay with the mangos. They're pretty good."

"Yeah, they are," Jeff laughed. There was a short silence, and then Jeff smiled. "Well, I should probably find Scott. I promised him I'd help him with his swing, you know?"

"Oh?" Scarlett asked, laughing. "Well, good luck with that." She lowered her voice down to a more confidential level. "I've heard he's pretty horrible at it."

"Now _that _is an understatement," Jeff replied with a laugh. He looked up and saw Boone walking in their direction. "I'll see you later, Scarlett."

He smiled at her and walked off towards the golf course. Boone smiled as he reached her.

"Hey," he said. "That was JT, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a grin. She looked down at the ground for a second. The indirect mention of the letter got her wondering bitterly who that JT fellow really was. And why he wanted to help her.

Boone either noticed her dangerous thoughtfulness or was getting tired of the silence, because he started complaining about how Shannon was getting all mad about how they weren't bringing any boar back, even though she never ate any when there _was _meat to eat. He started to say something about a raft, when suddenly the peace of the caves was disrupted when Michael burst into the caves, striding towards Locke and Walt with fury in his eyes.

"Dammit!" Michael yelled. "What is wrong with you?"

Scarlett and Boone automatically froze up. Everyone in the caves turned their attentions in Michael's direction, and watched eagerly like it was a soap opera. Locke tentatively rose to his feet, looking as calm and collected as always.

"I was just coming to see…" he began, but Michael cut him off viciously.

"I told you to stay away from my son," he said through clenched teeth.

"He didn't," Walt protested. "I was just gonna…"

"Walt, I don't want to hear it from you," Michael interjected. Scarlett looked down at Vincent, who was lying next to the fountain. He looked up at her, and she could have sworn that there was some amusement in his eyes.

When Locke spoke next, it was quietly.

"I was just giving him this pencil to give to you," he said, holding up a pencil. "I thought you could use it."

Michael glanced down at his hand incredulously, like he wasn't sure what Locke was holding.

"What the hell is his deal?" Boone muttered to Scarlett, obviously still a little angry about Michael's hitting him the day before.

"Consider it a peace offering," Locke said when Michael didn't move for a long moment. Michael took a step closer in Locke's direction.

"I catch you with my son again," he said, at least trying to be quiet, though it was clear that Walt could hear every word. "I'll kill you."

He took a step back from Locke and stared at him. Locke returned the stare. He glanced over at Scarlett and Boone, and, seeing them frozen in place, nodded in Michael's direction before picking up the silver knife case and leaving. Michael turned and watched him go as the entire population of the caves looked on emotionlessly. All except Walt, who was seething with anger. Everyone watched him grow more tense and more angry until he finally exploded.

"You're a jerk!" he exclaimed loudly. Michael turned to face his son with surprise.

"What'd you say to me?" he asked, his eyes flashing.

"Mr. Locke didn't do anything wrong," Walt said defiantly. "He's my friend!"

Michael sneered subtly. "He's not anymore. I'm looking out for you."

"You don't care about me!" Walt shot back. "You never cared about me!"

"What?" Michael asked, and it was apparent that this was the one wound that actually hurt him. Scarlett felt a tiny twinge of pity.

Walt didn't seem to notice. He just kept going. "You only showed up after my mom died. Where were you when I was growing up, huh? Nowhere!"

Michael seemed to feel the need to try and explain.

"Listen, Walt," he said, faltering for a moment. "It's complicated."

"I don't even care," Walt retorted. "You're not my father."

These last words seemed to hurt Michael more than anything so far. He just stared at his son as if he was seeing a stranger standing in front of him. And, Scarlett reasoned, he really sort of _was _seeing a stranger. They barely knew each other. Her heart ached for the two of them, though a moment before she had been resisting the urge to just hit Michael.

"You want to hate me?" Michael asked with his quiet voice trembling with anger. Walt stared up at him defiantly. "You gonna punish me for something I can't change? Fine!" He grabbed a comic book from out of his pocket and jabbed it in his face with an angry scowl. "But you _will _listen to me."

With that, he threw the comic book into the fire. Walt just turned and watched it burning with a horrified look in his eyes.

"Asshole," someone muttered in the crowd. It sounded like Shannon.

Michael, if he heard the insult, paid no attention, and he pointed near where Scarlett and Boone were still standing frozen in place.

"Now," he said with deadly calm. "You get over there…" Walt turned and looked at him with fiery eyes. "…And you stay there." Walt didn't budge. "Now!"

Walt glared at Michael for a long moment before turning and walking over towards Scarlett and Boone. Scarlett gave the young boy a comforting smile before she and Boone walked towards the woods, not wanting to be in the middle of this fight.

"We should find Locke," Boone muttered to her as they started out of the caves. She nodded, and they continued walking.

* * *

They were walking through the woods when they happened to come across Locke by pure chance, sitting at the base of a tree. When they appeared, he smiled at them, though the smile seemed slightly forced. Scarlett wondered if he took Michael's rudeness more to heart than he appeared to.

"Hey, John," she said cheerfully, sitting down at the bottom of a tree across from him. "Why are you…here?"

Locke chuckled to himself slightly and started sharpening his knife absently.

"I knew you'd be along eventually," he remarked, glancing up at her once before looking back down at his knife. "So I just decided to wait here for you. It's quite relaxing here, don't you think?"

Scarlett looked around. It _was _pretty peaceful. It reminded her of some fantastical clearing in a book about elves or faeries. She grinned to herself.

"Yeah," she said quietly. All it would need was white flowers. She snorted to herself, trying to shake the dreams out of her mind. That was the last thing she needed to be thinking about.

"So what now?" Boone asked leaning against the tree.

"I don't know," Locked replied with a shrug. "What do you want to do now?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Scarlett found herself walking down the beach with Kate, chatting about what had gone on at the beach the day before. She had left Boone and Locke in that clearing, after Boone promised her that he'd be along soon.

"So how about you and Jack?" Scarlett asked Kate after a short silence fell on the two friends. Kate made a face and sighed slightly.

"I don't know," she said. "I haven't talked to him in a while."

Scarlett could see the indecision on her friend's face, and she arched an eyebrow.

"Something wrong with you two?" she asked casually. Kate shrugged.

"I don't know," she said again. "I just don't know what he wants, you know? When we first crashed, he said that it didn't matter what I…"

She stopped talking suddenly, making a face. She bit her lip and looked away.

"What you what?" Scarlett asked, her brow furrowing suspiciously. Kate heaved a sigh and opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped. She was dying to tell Scarlett everything, but her mind was running over what Scarlett could say to it. The insecure part of her, the largest part, envisioned Scarlett storming off in a rage. She didn't want to lose the friendship. She felt like Scarlett was her closest friend. If she didn't have Scarlett to complain about everything and get stuff off of her chest, she wouldn't know what to do.

"What I did before the crash," Kate said slowly, deciding that that wasn't technically a lie; it was just avoiding the whole truth. "But recently he's been bugging me about all this personal stuff…I don't know, it seems kind of hypocritical to me."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, tapping her foot on the ground and biting her lip to keep from smiling. She couldn't help that she was rooting for Sawyer in this one. To her it seemed to be a no-brainer, and wasn't sure why Kate had any trouble choosing in the first place.

"Yeah?" Kate asked with a small smile. "That's all you can say? Yeah?"

"Well, I totally agree with you and more…just didn't want to say it," Scarlett replied, smiling. Kate laughed slightly, thought a moment later grew thoughtfully silent again.

"Why don't you like Jack?" she asked, glancing sideways at her friend. Scarlett shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "I mean…he's a nice guy I guess. I'm just not too fond of his martyr attitude. You know, the whole 'I'm doing this for all of you, watch me suffer and pity me' routine. Stephen used to do it _all the time_, and it bothered the shit out of me." She shook her head, thinking of that. "So, when I met Jack, I thought of that immediately, and he's bothered me ever since."

She smirked, and Kate laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess that bothers me too."

The two girls smiled at each other, and Scarlett was about to say something when she saw Boone out of the corner of her eye, walking towards them. She smiled at him.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. She saw that there was something wrong by the look on his face. "What happened?"

"Walt's missing," Boone replied. "Michael and John went off to find him."

Scarlett felt a stab of fear.

"What if Ethan took _him_, too?" she asked with horror. Boone nodded grimly.

"I was wondering the same thing," he replied. Kate looked on worriedly. "But he was with Vincent…maybe he just went for a walk or something. It's not the first time it's happened. He wanders away a lot…"

"Yeah," Kate said quickly. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Scarlett nodded slowly, though she was unsure. She couldn't help that nagging fear, and that lingering sadness that she felt whenever she thought about Claire. She hadn't seen the other girl in so long…she didn't even remember how long ago it was.

Without warning, the tears started rising in her throat, and she closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and trying to quell the urge to just start crying. Boone noticed her discomfort and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Kate watched them with unconcealed envy.

"It's going to be okay," he said softly to her. "Don't worry. It's gonna be all right."

Scarlett didn't have the heart to tell him that she didn't think it would be all right at all.

* * *

_Scarlett dialed the number slowly, her fingers trembling with fear. She could hear Carrie downstairs playing with Nattie, and the TV was on softly. Other than that, the only noise was her heart, which sounded impossibly loud in her ears. _

_She waited through five rings, and was about to hang up, when she heard the audible click. _

_"Hello?" The voice on the other line sounded tired, but cheerful. Scarlett smiled hopefully._

_"Hi, Anthony," she said with quiet nervousness, biting her lip. There was a long silence on the other line, then a heavy sigh. _

_"Scarlett," Anthony said with no emotion in his voice. Scarlett ran a hand through her hair. _

_"Yeah," she said, feeling incredibly small and unimportant. He sounded like he didn't want to talk to her. He probably _didn't _want to talk to her. _

_"What do you want?" he asked bitterly. Scarlett closed her eyes and drew in a shuddering breath. _

_"I wanted to talk to you," she said in reply, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. She wasn't sure if she was successful or not, but it didn't really matter anyway. He didn't care._

_"Well, I don't want to talk to you, okay?" he said, the anger scathing. _

_"Anthony…" Scarlett began in a pleading voice, but her angry half-brother cut her off. _

_"Why the fuck do you think I'd want to listen to you bitch about him?" he asked with a growl. "About what he's been doing to you?" Scarlett was shocked into silence. "Yeah, Carol told me. Thought it would help you. Forgot that I couldn't give a rat's ass if you get beaten shitless by that dumb fuck! Serves you fucking right for doing what you did." _

_Scarlett was sobbing by now, holding the phone away from her ear in her horror at hearing those words from him. He was right and she knew it. She deserved what was happening to her. She deserved everything Stephen did, because it was her fault he was still around to be doing them. Her fault he was still with her. She hadn't left him when she should have. _

_Suddenly, the phone was gently taken out of her hands, and she looked up and saw Carrie standing above her. She pulled the phone to her ear, and with an expression of total calm, said, "Listen to me, Anthony, and listen good. You are a disgrace to your mother's name. You are doing to Scarlett exactly what Mark did to her; you are breaking her down and hurting her with your words, and that's the worst that you could possibly do. Hey! I don't care what you think she did. She didn't do anything that you wouldn't have done in her position." She paused for a moment, listening. "Listen to yourself! Are you so delusional that you actually believe that? Your mother in Heaven is cursing the day she ever fucked Charles Miller, producing you, you bastard." _

_With that, she slammed the phone onto the cradle and turned to Scarlett, who still had tears staining her cheeks. Giving Scarlett a sympathetic smile, she crouched down in front of her. _

_"He has a right to hate me," Scarlett said quietly, curling her hands into fists by her sides. "He's right, I do deserve everything."_

_"No, no, you don't," Carrie said soothingly, running a hand over the top of Scarlett's head and bringing her palm down to rest on Scarlett's cheek. Her other hand moved to entwine Scarlett's fingers in her own. "Sweetie, don't you ever tell yourself that, okay? Don't ever let him think that you did anything wrong. You did what you thought was right. And I think you were very brave for doing it."_

_"I don't want him to hate me," Scarlett sobbed brokenly. "I don't want him to think I'm a bad person." _

_"I know, sweetie," Carrie whispered. "But you're not, and if he can't see that, then he's an asshole, just remember that."_

_Scarlett nodded, but couldn't help but feel that she had made the biggest mistake of her life.

* * *

_

It was nearly dark when Locke came out of the trees with Michael and Walt, all three of them smiling together. By that time, only Boone was left; Kate having gone back to her shelter over an hour ago. When they saw Michael chatting with Locke and actually smiling, they both did a double take, looking at the sight and each other with raised eyebrows.

"Well," Boone said after a shocked pause. "That's something I _never _expected to see."

"Yeah," Scarlett said in a similarly awed tone. "That's…weird."

Locke spotted them staring and said a few words to Michael and Walt, shaking Michael's hand before walking over to where Scarlett and Boone were lounging in the sand.

"I see you found him," Scarlett said with a smile.

"Yeah," Locke said, sitting down beside them slowly. "He was in the woods, hiding in a tree, being attacked by a polar bear."

Scarlett and Boone looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"So there's more than one," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "Great."

"Apparently there is," Locke replied. "But we got Walt back. Vincent's missing, though."

"Really?" Scarlett asked pityingly. "Is Walt upset?"

"A little," Locke replied. "I was thinking we should go look for him. Tonight."

He pulled out a whistle. Scarlett figured it was probably a dog whistle.

"Okay," she said, shrugging. She turned to Boone. "Why not?"

Boone grinned.

"Yeah," he said. "Why not?"

* * *

So, three hours later, they found themselves walking through the woods in the darkness, following Locke, who was blowing on the dog whistle. Scarlett found herself surprisingly unafraid. After all, they were looking for a dog, not sleeping overnight beside a mysterious hatch. After doing _that, _she felt like she could do anything.

It was still dark, so she walked closely to Boone, her fingers gripping his arm tightly. He seemed to like it, actually. It was like he liked being the protector; he liked being needed.

"I don't think that whistle's working, John," Boone said after a while. Scarlett glanced at him with a small laugh.

"It's a dog whistle, Boone," she said quietly. "You're not supposed to hear it. Only a dog can."

Boone looked at her, one eyebrow arched.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"You can't hear everything, Boone," Locke said with a chuckle. "The sooner you learn that, the better." Boone sighed slightly and chuckled. Locke stopped moving and blew on the whistle again. Suddenly, to their right, the leaves began to rustle. Scarlett jumped with surprise. The rustling came again. There was clearly something in the trees.

"Well, I heard that," Boone said slowly. Locke didn't say anything, just stared into the trees looking worried. "Vincent?" Boone called softly. Nothing moved. "Vincent, is that you?" Still, there was no movement. Scarlett slowly tightened her hold on Boone's arm, unconsciously backing up a step. "Vincent!" Boone called again, this time with some fear in his voice. Suddenly, the leaves started rustling again. Something was moving towards them. Scarlett glanced at Locke and saw that he had his knife firmly by his side.

She glanced back at the bushes and saw with horror that there was a figure in the leaves, walking towards them with shadows cast over its dim form. That was very clearly not Vincent. Boone realized it too and pulled her behind him, his hand grabbing hers tightly as he prepared to get her out of there.

But as the figure stepped out of the bushes, Boone relaxed, not because of relief but because of absolute and utter shock as he stared at the person who stood shivering in front of them. Scarlett gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she began to shake.

It was Claire.


	51. Homecoming Part 1

Holy crap, sorry for the long delay again! It's been a loooong week!

Haha, I looked at the calender this morning and was like 'okay, so I updated on the fifth…what's today, the tenth? Ah, that's not that bad….wait…SHIT IT'S THE 17TH!" hahaha. So I decided that updating might be a good idea. You know, maybe. (:

And UGH, I have my driving test on Monday! I'm so nervous! ):

Thanks to…most of you who reviewed (: You guys rule!

Unsigned reviewers:

**Jane:** I accept constructive criticism wholeheartedly, and I'm glad you think my spelling and grammar is decent, but is there really any need to tell me what I already know? I'm aware this story is more of a Mary Sue, thank you. I personally don't find anything wrong with Mary Sues, as long as they have a background and an interesting story to go with it. I like to read them myself. Thank you for reviewing nonetheless.

**JimmyP**: Haha, I like the new name! It's very nice! I'm glad you liked how I recreated the final scene. I was worried about that part, I admit. I wasn't sure that it sounded right or was dramatic enough, but yay! You liked it! And hahaha, I can so picture that with the forums if she was in the show. "Omg, they finally got together!" or "Anthony is such a jerk!" Haha, that would be so funny. And What Kate Did was AMAZING! I didn't see that part coming either! I was so floored when they showed it. Thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney:** Yay! I'm glad you're back! Oh man, I'm sorry you just watched Do No Harm ): That's the saddest thing I've ever watched. Next to Armageddon. And there is indeed a large bit of Charlie in this chapter. In fact, there's this whole Charlie POV thing (: Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Homecoming (1):** Claire

"Claire?" Locke asked tremulously. Claire just stood there, looking at them with confusion in her eyes.

"Claire," Scarlett sobbed with relief. She started to go to her friend, but suddenly Claire collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head. Locke was standing closest to her, and he rushed forward as soon as she started to sag, catching her in his arms and preventing her from falling.

"We have to get her to Jack," Locke proclaimed, hoisting Claire into a more comfortable position in his arms. Scarlett and Boone nodded numbly, Scarlett with tears running down her cheeks. "You two lead the way."

On Locke's orders, Scarlett and Boone started to walk quickly through the underbrush, neither of them speaking. They were both too shocked to say anything, or make an attempt at saying anything. Soon they were practically running, the labyrinth of trees proving no obstacle for them, as they had been this way many times before. Locke managed to keep up right behind them, somehow keeping Claire in his arms though he was moving at a breakneck pace.

"We're almost there," Boone said under his breath, both to reassure Scarlett and to reassure himself. "We're almost there…"

* * *

Charlie was in the middle of a freaky dream about Ethan and a bamboo pole when he heard a commotion in the caves. Because he was an extremely light sleeper, he awoke almost immediately, but remained lying there, his eyes closed, willing whoever it was to just shut up and go away so he didn't have to listen to them anymore.

"Over here!" Locke's booming voice yelled. "Jack!"

"Hey!" someone else yelled. It sounded like Sullivan. Charlie sighed, but still didn't open his eyes.

"Where's Jack?" Locke's voice called out.  
"Where the fuck is Jack?" A woman's voice yelled, louder than the rest. He smiled to himself. That was definitely Scarlett.

Being the victim of a delayed reaction, as those waking from sleep often are, Charlie realized that the voices sounded frantic and frightened. His eyes flew open and he sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"We need the doctor!" Locke shouted, sounding agitated.

"He's right there!" a man shouted. Charlie thought it may have been Steve. Or Scott. He wasn't sure. Charlie turned towards the commotion and saw people rushing to the front of the caves, gasping and whispering to each other.

"What happened?" he asked with worry, but no one seemed to hear him. He stood up to go see what was wrong, when suddenly Locke appeared through the parting crowd like some sort of bald and beardless Moses, carrying a woman in his arms. And that woman, unconscious and covered in dirt, was Claire.

He gaped at her still form, his eyes dancing over the steep curve of her very pregnant belly, pausing on her face and her closed eyes. He felt tears filling his eyes and was not a bit ashamed to admit that he was crying. She was right there. They had found her. And, though it frightened him to no end to even admit it to himself, she looked…dead.

"Jack!" Walt yelled with some agitation, but Charlie barely heard him. It was like the world had narrowed down to just two beings; he and Claire. He barely noticed the fear written on Scarlett's face, or the way that Locke was panting hard, looking down at Claire with frustration. He didn't even notice the slight rise and fall of her chest that would have settled his heaving stomach and quelled his raging fears. All he saw was her face, and in his fevered imagination, he could have sworn he saw her smile.

"Doctor!" Locke yelled, his voice sounding fuzzy and unfocused to Charlie's ears, as if he had stopped them up with cotton. Finally he snapped out of his reverie as Locke drew closer to him.

"Claire!" he said, craning his neck to get a better look at her. People moved aside so he could get closer. Scarlett spotted him and grabbed his arm as if afraid he would leave. As if he could.

"Is she alive?" Michael asked. Charlie glared at him venomously, but the other man didn't notice.

"What happened?" Walt asked curiously. Charlie tried to get in a little closer, pulling out of Scarlett's grasp.

"Is she all right?" he asked. Suddenly he was pushed away by Jack, who finally decided to make an appearance. He took a thorough look at Claire, and then nodded to Locke.

"Let me have her," he said. "It's okay." Locke handed the pregnant girl over to the doctor without a word, following behind him as Jack moved over to the area of the caves designated for the infirmary. Charlie continued to follow them, ignoring Scarlett's urges to remain calm. In fact, he wasn't even entirely sure of what she was saying.

"Where did you find her?" Jack asked, stumbling a tiny bit and giving both Charlie and Scarlett minor heart attacks.

"About a mile north," Locke replied. "We were looking for the dog."

Charlie jogged a little to catch up to Jack, who was moving at a near-running pace. Charlie inwardly threatened Jack. If he tripped…

"Was she conscious?" the doctor asked, panting a little as he got closer to the airplane seat that was being used as a sort of hospital bed.

"She collapsed in my arms," Locke replied, sounding pained. Charlie felt a little sick himself. The bruises and scrapes on her arms and face gave him a nauseas feeling.

Jack put Claire down on the bed, making sure she was in a comfortable position.

"Did she say anything?" Charlie asked eagerly. He wouldn't have said it aloud, but he was hoping she said something about him. After all, the last she had seen of him, he had been dangling from a tree. Or so he assumed. He still wasn't really sure what had happened during that time.

"Charlie, man, is she injured?" Hurley asked, as if Charlie would know any better than Jack.

Jack checked Claire's pulse, frowning thoughtfully. He turned and reached for a bottle of water that Scarlett quickly snatched up and handed to him.

"Is she all right?" Walt asked worriedly.

"Everybody needs to back off, okay?" Jack said with some completely unfounded, in Charlie's opinion, annoyance. "Just give her some air."

As Charlie suppressed the urge to start screaming at Jack, he noticed Scarlett clench her fists and her teeth, her face nearly turning red from the effort of restraining herself. Everyone backed off except the two wordless protestors. Jack, however, didn't seem to notice. He knelt beside Claire with a water bottle in his hands. Charlie leaned over next to him as Jack began to dab at Claire's forehead with a cloth.

"She's fine," Charlie heard Boone assuring Scarlett. Charlie turned and looked over his shoulder. Scarlett had one arm across her chest, while the other hand was raised to her mouth, and she was chewing on her nails nervously. Boone was standing behind her, his hands on her arms and his head resting against hers. Charlie looked away quickly, grimacing as he looked down at the woman in front of him. She was the Scarlett to his Boone. He needed her to be okay.

"Claire?" Jack said gently, still going with the cloth on the forehead. "Can you hear me? Wake up now. Hey, Claire. Claire." Suddenly, Claire started to stir, making a face as she turned her head to get away from the coldness of the water. "Wake up now," Jack said with more hope. Suddenly, Claire opened her eyes. Jack smiled. "Hey," he said. Everyone in the caves smiled, even Scarlett, and everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief.

But then Claire did something very unexpected. She screamed.

She screamed so loud that Hurley nearly fell over in his surprise. Boone grabbed hold of Scarlett tighter, and Michael put his hand swiftly on Walt's shoulder, pulling him back. Claire looked around and pushed herself backwards, until her back was against one of the airplane carts that was filled with supplies.

"Claire…" Scarlett said slowly, not understanding what was going on. Charlie saw her hand go to her stomach. He wondered if she was still sick.

"It's okay," Jack said quickly, moving over towards the other woman in a crouch, holding out his hands. "Claire. Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

Charlie walked forward, smiling reassuringly at Claire.

"Claire," he said lovingly. "You're okay. You're safe."

Claire just stared at Charlie with fear plainly in her eyes. Charlie searched her expression for anything other than fear; any shock and surprise at seeing him alive, any relief, happiness…but there was nothing. She just stared at him with a total lack of recognition that stirred his stomach and made him like he was going to throw up his meager dinner.

"Who are you?" she asked, panting for breath heavily. Though Charlie nearly passed out, hearing her voice again, he was kept conscious by the fact that she didn't seem to know who he was. She glanced around, her breath coming in short, fearful pants. "Who are you?" she screamed, horrified. Charlie turned and looked at Jack, who was staring at Claire with shock written on his features. "Who are you people?"

She was crying, now. Jack turned to everyone who was gathered there.

"Guys, I need you to get out of here, okay?" he said. "This isn't a zoo."

For once, Scarlett seemed to agree, but she knew that she had just as much right as Jack to be there. She and Boone stayed where they were as everyone moved off. Soon they were alone in the infirmary, with only Jack, Locke, Charlie, Scarlett, Boone, and Claire remaining.

Scarlett and Boone walked closer, and Jack crouched down beside Charlie, who was looking at Claire with wide eyes. He felt like he was going to cry. She didn't remember him.

"Claire…" Jack began, clasping his hands in front of him and lowering his head for a moment. "You don't remember us? Me?" Claire shook her head, crying. "Charlie?" Claire shook her head again, crying harder.

"I don't know any of you," she sobbed. Charlie heard Scarlett's breath catch in her throat behind him. He turned and looked at her, and saw that she had a hand over her mouth, and was apparently trying hard not to cry. Boone, to distract himself, started lighting a fire nearby to cast some light on the area.

"What about Ethan?" Jack asked. "Do you know what happened to you out there?"

"No," Claire whimpered. "I just remember waking up here…who…who's Ethan?"

"He took you," Charlie explained. "You were missing for…a long time." He stood up and moved over to the cave wall, leaning against it as emotions washed over him.

Claire looked around, biting her lip as the fire caught and began to burn steadily.

"I…I don't understand," she said shakily. "I don't know any Ethan. Um…I don't…I don't remember…I don't remember any of you. I don't remember any of this…"

Charlie returned to kneel in front of her.

"What do you remember?" he asked kindly. Locke made himself comfortable near the cave wall.

"Um…" Claire started. "I…I was on a plane. Um…f…flying to L.A. from Sydney."

There was a long pause in which everyone looked at one another.

"Claire…" Jack started, looking unsure of to how to say what he was going to say. "We were all on that plane. It crashed here, on this island." Claire stared at him with shock. Jack sighed. "That was about a month ago."

Claire gasped and looked down at her stomach, her hands immediately clutching it.

"No!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "I…I'm due in…"

"Your baby's fine," Jack assured her gently. "He's kicking. Everything's normal. Okay?"

"Well…" Claire said, looking around at the people gathered in front of her. "If it's been almost a month, then why hasn't somebody come to get us?"

Everyone looked around at one another, not sure about how to answer that question. Charlie looked at Scarlett, knowing that if anyone was just going to come out and say it, it would be her. The girl certainly didn't have any problem being blunt.

As Charlie predicted, Scarlett stepped forward out of the shadows that had previously covered her.

"When the plane went down…" she began. Jack gave her a glare that she caught, and she turned to look at him disapprovingly. "She knew before she went missing, Jack. I don't think it's going to hurt her to know now." She turned back to Claire, and Jack sighed heavily. She pretended not to notice. "When we crashed, we were a thousand miles off course." She paused. "Meaning that they're looking for us in the wrong place."

There was a pause as Claire digested that information. She bit her lip and nodded, then glanced up at Scarlett, looking like she was about to say something. She opened her mouth, then stopped and sighed, then started again.

"Um…" she began tentatively. "This may sound…odd. But…you seem…familiar."

"Then you remember?" Charlie asked with excitement.

"Not really…" Claire admitted. "It's just that you…I remember you."

Scarlett understood why.

"I was sitting next to you on the plane," she recalled. "Right before it crashed, we were having a conversation about your baby."

"Yes!" Claire said, sounding surprised and pleased. "I remember now. You were with…a boyfriend?"

"No, no," Scarlett said with a laugh. "That was my brother…" She trailed off and bit her lip. Claire got the message that and turned back to Jack.

"So you've been here for over a month," she said matter-of-factly. "And no one is coming…how many of you are there?"

"Forty…six?" Jack said, thinking. Then, he nodded. "Yeah, forty-six."

"There don't seem to be that many people here," Claire remarked, looking around. Scarlett noticed Sun and Jin conversing as they ogled at Claire. She smiled to herself.

"Some of them are down at the beach," Charlie said to Claire. He grinned at her. "You liked the beach."

Rather than get creeped out, Claire smiled back at him, albeit a little warily.

"I do like the beach," she admitted. "Though this doesn't seem all that bad. Where was I staying when…when I was taken?"

"Well, technically we were on the way to the beach from the caves," Charlie said with a grin. "But you were staying here."

Scarlett nudged Jack, and the two of them gave a look to Locke. The three of them walked away from Charlie and Claire slowly, letting the two of them get wrapped up in their conversation. Scarlett took Boone's arm and gently led him over to the fire as Locke moved off to talk to Traci, who appeared to be spying.

Once they made it over to another fire nearby, and plopped down beside it, Scarlett allowed her tears to fall. She held her head in her hands and cried as Boone wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Hey, hey," he said soothingly. "Don't cry. She's back. She's all right."

"I know," Scarlett replied, sniffling and smiling slightly. "I'm so…relieved. God, I feel like I just won the lottery or something."

"Dude…trust me…this is way better," Hurley muttered from a nearby fire. Scarlett and Boone both laughed, and after a pause, Hurley's face broke into a smile also, and he shook with silent laughter.

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed once she had stopped laughing. "It is."

She leaned back against Boone, and he tightened his hold on her gently, as if afraid that she was going to leave him. She closed her eyes, sighing heavily and resting her hand over his. Without noticing it, about ten minutes later, she slid into sleep.

* * *

_"Help! Help me!" Claire screamed, sounding close by in the forest. Scarlett ran in the direction that the sound was coming from._

_"I'm coming!" she shouted confidently, knowing deep inside that everything was going to be all right. The screaming grew louder and louder, until she was certain that Claire would be right in the next clearing. But when she burst through the foliage, she was met with the sight of Boone dangling from a tree by his neck, his head lolling to one side as he gasped and choked for breath. Scarlett screamed, and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. _

_"Let go of me!" she screamed, slamming the heel of her hand upward, hitting her captor's nose. The iron grip didn't even lessen. She turned to see who it was, and saw Stephen's smirking grin for only a moment before he grabbed her face in his hands and forced her to watch as Boone's life drained out of his body. _

_"You did this to him," he whispered in her ear, his face so close to hers. Boone's eyes connected with hers, the pain in them impossible to bear. He looked betrayed, hurt, afraid…she felt tears creeping to her eyes at the sight. _

_"Let him go!" she screamed hysterically, fighting like a caged animal to break out of Stephen's grasp._

_"It's your fault!" Stephen screeched in reply, not even remotely fazed by her scratches and hits. "Look at him, Scarlett! Watch him die for you! Aren't you so happy now, baby?"_

_He laughed, the noise bouncing off the trees hollowly and making it sound like there was more than one Stephen. _

_"No, no, stop it!" Scarlett screamed. "Don't hurt him!"_

_"Who says it was me?" Stephen asked, bending his face close to hers and bending his lips down to kiss her shoulder. The spot burned like fire, and she screamed again, trying to wrench his hands away…

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a gasp, eyes flinging open. She was lying on the ground, next to but a little ways away from Boone. Locke was sitting at a nearby fire, oblivious to her presence. She sat up slowly, shakily, as the memory of the dream fell away, as she knew it would. But as she eased her way back to reality, she realized that her shoulder still hurt. Frowning, she glanced down at the spot that burned, and saw with horror that there was a bruise there.

* * *

Scarlett didn't sleep for the remainder of the night, finding that the hard cave floor combined with the excitement of the night, her frightening dream, and the lack of Boone's warmth all made it nearly impossible to catch a few moments of rest. Instead, she lay with her eyes closed, listening with short, panting breaths to everything around her. Every twig that snapped, or every person that snored, gave her a jolt of horror, before she realized what it was and was filled with relief. This continuing cycle of fear and ease kept her up more than anything else, and by the time it was starting to get light out, Scarlett was practically going crazy. She stood up to go see if anyone else was awake, and she saw Claire sitting by herself on the other side of the cave. She smiled brightly to herself and walked over.

"Hey," she said cheerfully, though she definitely was _not _feeling very cheerful that morning. In fact, she felt like shit. But she could ignore that.

"Hey," Claire said, smiling back with the same false happiness that Scarlett was giving off. "I take it you couldn't sleep either?"

"Nope," Scarlett said with a heavy sigh, sitting down next to her friend. "I had the _worst _dream…"

She trailed off as she looked at Claire sadly, then chuckled slightly to herself.

"What?" Claire asked, grinning nervously.

"I just…I was about to start talking to you about the dreams," Scarlett explained. "Before you were taken, I was having these frightening dreams…and I mean really, really frightening. We used to talk about them all the time. We'd sometimes have the same one, too. Or one where similar things happened. It was really odd…"

"We were pretty close, weren't we?" Claire said sadly. She gestured to the diary in her hands. "I was reading this last night, and every other word is Scarlett, I swear."

Scarlett laughed.

"Well," she said confidentially. "If you were to read mine, I think you'd find that you show up in there a lot more often than you might think."

Claire laughed, but quickly grew serious.

"I hate this feeling," she said slowly. "This whole…not remembering thing. It's really starting to bug me."

"Did reading the diary help a little?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"Well, I haven't finished it quite yet…but so far it's helping somewhat. Bits and pieces I can remember, I think. I'll read a piece of the diary and think that it seems so familiar, and sometimes I even get like…mental images, you know?"

Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah," she said hopefully. "You should keep reading that. It'll help a lot, I think."

"I think so too," Claire agreed. She took a sip of the water by her side, humming softly to herself. Scarlett was silent, looking into a nearby burning out fire. She listened absently to Claire's humming, then her brow furrowed in confusion as she turned to face her friend.

"What are you humming?" she asked.

"I don't know," Claire replied, biting her lip. "It was in my dream last night. Someone was singing it to me, and the lyrics were so pretty and perfect. I can't remember them though, only the tune." She glanced at Scarlett, who was grinning slightly. "Why?"

"I sang that to you the night you got attacked," she explained. "Before Ethan took you. I sang it to you to comfort you."

Claire was silent for a moment, looking shocked and more than just a little surprised.

"Are you serious?" she asked, blinking several times as if that would make her think better.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. Claire whistled slightly under her breath and smiled with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

"Maybe…maybe that's good," she said slowly. "Maybe that means I'm starting to remember stuff."

"Maybe," Scarlett agreed, smiling as well. "I'm sure you'll remember everything in time. I'll talk to you about it, if you want. I'll tell you things that you said. I'm sure it will help."

"Thanks, Scarlett," Claire said with a small smile.

"No problem," Scarlett replied, standing up. "I'll be back in a few minutes, all right?"

"Take your time," Claire replied, waving her hand as she started to read her diary again. Scarlett made her way back to where Boone was still sleeping, getting a water bottle from his bag and carrying it over to the waterfall.

She was bending down to fill it up when she noticed that Jack was watching her from the other side of the caves. She waved slightly to let him know that she saw him, and he made his way towards her, glancing around slightly before speaking.

"I saw you talking to Claire," he said, his brow furrowing. "What did you say to her?"

"We were just talking about how we used to be friends before she was taken," Scarlett replied. "Why?"

"Charlie has requested that no one say anything about him being hung," Jack replied, running a hand over his head. "He wants to keep it from her, I think."

"That makes sense," Scarlett murmured, remembering a dream that she had had when she saw Charlie hanging from the tree. She certainly understood why he would want to shelter Claire from that.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, nodding and glancing at Claire, who was reading the diary with a small smile on her face. "Did she remember anything more?"

"She said that when she was reading her diary, there were parts that seemed really familiar, and she'd even have mental images."

"That's good," Jack said, sounding pleasantly surprised. "That's very good. Thanks, Scarlett. I'll check up on her later today. If she needs anything, don't hesitate to find me."

"Yeah, okay," Scarlett said, nodding politely to Jack before taking her water and heading back over to Claire. "What are you reading?" she asked her friend. "You're smiling an awful lot."

"I'm reading about you, actually," Claire replied, grinning. "Apparently you were denying your feelings for some guy named Boone. I wrote two pages on how obvious you were."

Scarlett's cheeks flushed red and she looked down at the ground, shaking her head and smiling.

"Yeah…well, we don't have to worry about that anymore," she assured the pregnant woman.

"Why?" Claire asked, sounding horrified. "Did he die? Or are you two not speaking anymore? Or…"

"No, we're definitely speaking," Scarlett said with a wry grin. "And, thank God, he's still alive."

Right on time, Boone walked over to them, smiling and waving at Claire nervously and ruffling Scarlett's hair before sitting down in front of them.

"Hey," he said. He stuck out his hand to Claire. "I'm…Boone."

"Hi," Clare said with a knowing smile, glancing at Scarlett. "I'm sorry I don't remember you…but if it makes you feel any better, the old me seemed to like you quite a bit."

"That's good to know," Boone said with a small grin. "Though there was probably a time when you didn't like me so much, right?"

"Like when?" Claire asked with confusion, flipping back through the pages absently.

"When I stole the water," Boone replied in a small voice, looking sorry for ever bringing it up.

"Oh, but old me wasn't mad about that," Claire said, shaking her head. "And I wouldn't have been mad either. I totally understand where you were coming from."

She grinned and him and he smiled tentatively back at her, glancing at Scarlett with extreme in his eyes. Scarlett was slightly surprised. She hadn't known that he still felt bad about the whole water thing. She had known that he still felt horrible about Joanna, of course, but the whole water thing had seemed to be over long ago. Though, knowing Boone like she did…Scarlett wasn't all that surprised that he held onto this thing much longer than it needed to be held on to.

"Hey, guys," said a voice from behind them. Scarlett and Boone turned, and Claire glanced up as Shannon sat between Scarlett and her brother, smiling at the three of them. "What's going on?"

Boone felt a thrill of fear in the pit of his stomach as he glared at Shannon warningly. He knew that she was a little bitter about the whole thing with Scarlett, and he definitely wouldn't put it past her to say something about it just at that moment, making it look like an accident.

"Not much," Scarlett said, totally oblivious to the danger Shannon presented to their fragile beginnings of a relationship.

"Cool, cool," Shannon said. She smiled at Claire. "I heard you were back," she said. "I know we really weren't friends before…but I guess that doesn't really matter, huh?" She laughed nervously. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Claire said with a small smile, her cheeks flushing red slightly. Shannon smiled as well, turned to Scarlett and smiled, then glared at Boone, and stood up and walked back over to where she had been chatting with Sayid.

"Umm…I'm guessing that was Shannon," Claire said, glancing at Boone. "Your sister?"

"Yeah," Boone said, sighing heavily. It sounded like a typical 'Shannon is a bitch' sigh, but Claire didn't miss the tiny hint of relief there. She wondered what was going on and thought to ask Scarlett later. "You could tell, huh?"

"Yeah," Claire said, nodding. "She was…um…kind of…"

"A bitch?" Boone asked, rolling his eyes in Shannon's area.

"Not to me," Claire hastened to say. "No, she was quite nice to me. Just…to you…she was mean…I guess. She glared quite…quite angrily."

"Yeah," Boone said. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Claire grinned at him and he grinned sadly back. He was just glad that Shannon hadn't said anything about the two of them in Sydney, or about him still being in love with her, or about him _ever _being in love with her. That would have certainly put a damper on he and Scarlett's relationship.

"Yeah, she's really sweet to anyone but Boone," Scarlett put in. "Most of the time, anyway. I mean…well…there's times when she's not so agreeable…but, you know, most of the time…I guess." She shrugged and Claire laughed

"Is there anyone who I really want to watch out for?" she asked with a small, conspiratorial smile. Boone and Scarlett turned and grinned at each other.

"We used to talk about this all the time," Scarlett said with a nostalgic laugh. "About who was nice and who we wanted off the island."

"Like Survivor," Boone put in. Claire laughed.

"Really?" she said. "Who did I want off?"

"Stephanie," Boone and Scarlett said in unison, laughing.

"Who's that?" Claire asked innocently.

"God, you'll see," Scarlett said, still laughing. "You hated her so much…I really didn't even know what your main problem with her was, but you hated her more than Boone, even, and she totally stalks him."

"Really?" Claire asked, and Scarlett was suddenly struck with an immense feeling of happiness that made her want to reach out and hug Claire. She didn't, of course. She didn't want to be scaring her friend away after she had only been back for one night, but there was still that big urge to just do it. The fact that she was back after Scarlett had worried over her for so long was just too good to be true.

"Yeah," Boone said, making a face.

"It's really quite amusing," Scarlett said, chuckling. "You'll notice it after a while, I promise you."

"It's quite hard to miss," Boone grumbled. Scarlett and Claire both laughed.

"Who else?" Claire asked, still chuckling.

"Arts," Boone said simply.

"Artz? With a Z?" Scarlett questioned.

"No, no, no, it's Arzt," Boone said with conviction.

"Yeah, that," Scarlett said, pointing to Boone. "Christ, he has such a retarded name."

"Why didn't I like him?" Claire asked, interested.

"He's just an asshole," Scarlett said with a wave of her hand. "You didn't like John either for the same reason."

"Locke?" Boone asked, frowning with surprise.

"No, no, Mills, "Scarlett said quickly.

"_Oh_, right," Boone said, snorting under his breath. "I don't think there are many people who _do _like him."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a hint of sadness. "He's a very grumpy person."

"That's an understatement," Boone said with a snorting laugh. Claire grinned.

"Oh, and Randy!" Scarlett exclaimed. "Though he's actually been okay lately. I think you getting taken really shook him up. But he was a total asshole. You seriously wanted to kill him at one point." Claire laughed.

"Really?" she asked incredulously. "I said that?"

"Oh yeah," Boone laughed.

"Anyone I should get to know better?" Claire asked with a chuckle.

"Sawyer," Scarlett said immediately. "He came out looking for you when you got taken…now, mind you, that's not a very Sawyer thing to do, so I was pretty impressed."

"As was I," Boone remarked.

"What do you mean by not a very Sawyer thing to do?" Claire asked, leaning forward slightly and tilting her head to one side.

"Sawyer's a pretty…selfish guy," Scarlett said reluctantly. "He's nice if he likes you, but if he can't stand you, forget about it. He's never one to stick his neck out to help other people, too, but he came looking for you."

"Mostly to impress Kate, but a lot for you, too," Boone said, chuckling. Scarlett grinned as well.

"Yeah," she said. "That was probably a large part of it, but he was just as upset as the rest of us when we couldn't find you."

"Who's Kate?" Claire asked.

"She's another one you should get to know again. She's so sweet." Scarlett smiled thinking about it. "For a few days after you were taken I was just so withdrawn. She helped me out with everything." She looked around the caves and saw Kate standing and talking to Sayid. "That's her right there with the brown hair, talking to the middle Eastern man. He's Sayid. He's nice too."

"Yeah," Boone muttered unhappily. Scarlett shot him a look, but couldn't contain a small smile.

"She seems familiar," Claire said, frowning to herself. "But I just can't…I don't know. I can't think of it…"

"Maybe you saw her on the plane or something," Boone suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Claire said, frowning again and then shaking her head, evidently giving up. "Anyone else?"

"Well, there's plenty of nice people," Boone said. "There's Sun. She doesn't speak English, but she's really nice."

Claire noticed that Scarlett suddenly found the dirt on the ground very interesting.

"What does she speak?" she asked curiously, deciding to ignore Scarlett's odd behavior for now.

"Korean," Boone said. "She and her husband. I feel bad for them, because it's so hard for them to communicate with people."

"Yeah," Claire said sadly. "I'd imagine it would be."

"I think we forgot the most important person on the island," Scarlett spoke up suddenly, the dirt apparently losing whatever quality had captured Scarlett's interest so perfectly only a few moments before.

"Who would that be?" Boone asked, looking genuinely confused.

"That dashingly handsome, charming, perfect little Brit," Scarlett said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Draveshaft's own Charlie Pace!"

Boone laughed, nodding to Claire.

"That's right," he remarked. "Charlie. He's the best."

"I talked to him last night," Claire said, smiling. "He seems really nice."

"He is," Scarlett said. "Oh, he is. You should really get to know him better. You'll love him, I promise."

Claire smiled again, not catching the insinuations that Scarlett was making. Perhaps that was for the best, because Scarlett didn't want to completely turn her off of a relationship with Charlie, since that was what she was shooting for anyway. Boone and Scarlett grinned at each other, and then Boone stood up.

"I should go find John," he said. "See if he wants us for today."

"Right," Scarlett said. "I'll stay here for now. Come get me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay," Boone said, waving goodbye to Claire and walking off towards the path to the beach, where Locke had gone to stay overnight. Claire and Scarlett both watched him go. Scarlett smiled happily and turned back to Claire, who was looking at her with such an 'I told you so' look that Scarlett almost forgot she didn't remember anything.

"Don't say a word," she muttered under her breath.

"I read all about it in my diary," Claire said with a malicious grin. "Guess I was right, then."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I hadn't even admitted it to myself until after you were taken!" she exclaimed defensively. "So technically…"

"Oh, don't give me that!" Claire protested loudly, and the two of them dissolved into giggles. The people nearby trying to sleep thought rather grumpily, as they groaned and covered their ears, that it was just like old times.


	52. Homecoming Part 2

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! And everything else that anyone may celebrate! Consider this my Christmas present to you all (: Even though Christmas is in like 3 hours for me….but whatever. I'm Santa! Bringing gifts for you to enjoy!

Wow, enough of that. Here's another chapter (: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please remember to review again! And have a wonderful holiday!

Oh, and I passed my driving test! Whoo hoo!

**Tasha:** Ohhh those episodes make me cry _every _time. They're so depressing ): I agree; the writers were stupid for killing Boone off! And hmmmm…did you sneak into my brain? Because at least one of the things that you suggested is going to happen. I'm not gonna tell you which….but one of them I have had planned for a while now! So stay out of my brain! Hahaha. And hey, don't apologize for the long review! I love long reviews! Merry Christmas and thanks for reviewing!

**Tawney:** Thanks for your rant (: It made me feel better! Hehehe! And I totally agree with you too…I really don't get the point of leaving a review if it's just a nasty one. At least some constructive criticism would be appreciated. Psh! Hahaha anyway…no I haven't seen the Notebook, but I want to because I absolutely adore Rachel McAdams and am a rather large fan. Armageddon's sad too, as I mentioned, and there's one scene in Titanic that always makes me lose it…it's actually not the scene you'd think, hahha. If you haven't seen it, there's this part when an Irish third class mother is tucking in her kids and reading them a story as the water's seeping in from under the door and she's trying to get them to go to sleep so they won't be awake when the ship sinks ): It's sooo sad. It makes me cry every time! Anyway! Thanks for reviewing and Merry Christmas!

**JimmyP:** Hehe, yay Christmas! I'm so excited! It's in like 2 hours! Hahaha. With Claire… I actually didn't have it planned out that she would remember Scarlett, but then I was recreating the scene and got to the part when Claire mentions that she remembers the flight, so I thought it would be good to have her remember Scarlett, both to sort of cement their friendship and go along more with the storyline. I haven't decided about the tail section thing yet… I could definitely add in some of my own characters and give them good reason for being there, but I'm not sure if I will yet…thanks for giving me the idea, though! Hahaha. Oooo, the actress question is a tough one! I actually have a fake actress in mind who plays pretty much all of my Ocs…yes, I named her. I do a lot of daydreaming in school and come up with the weirdest stuff, hahaha. But if I had to pick, I'd say Rachel McAdams, with brown hair like she had in Red Eye. I can really see her as Scarlett…sort of innocent and angelic almost, but tough at the same time, you know? Well Merry Christmas and thanks for the review!

* * *

**Homecoming (2): **Surprise

Later on that day, after Boone and Locke had traipsed off into the jungle together, Scarlett headed down to the beach to get Claire's surprise book. After Charlie had woken up, Scarlett had made some excuse about going and talking to Sawyer so the two of them could have some alone time, and she had taken off before either of the two even registered what had happened. She had spent about an hour with Sun and Kate in the garden before taking off for the beach. Apparently Kate knew about Sun speaking English, which was good. Sun seemed to be a lot more talkative lately.

As Scarlett was walking, she heard something behind her. She whirled around, expecting to see someone from the caves walking along after her, but there was no one there. She frowned; she was certain she had heard a twig snap.

"Hello?" she called out, but her questioning greeting was met with silence. She sighed and shook her head. She really thought she was losing it sometimes. She had just started walking again, however, when she heard a twig snap yet again. This time she was sure of it. She whirled around, her hand already going to her side, where her knife rested in her belt. She still didn't see anything, but she knew there was something there.

"Who the fuck is there?" she called out, trying to sound at least _somewhat _intimidating. She knew that wasn't going to work so well, but she figured she could pretend. Maybe it would make them laugh and then reveal themselves.

But there was nothing. Not even a little giggle. She sighed and started walking again, this time making an effort to be quiet. She could just barely detect the sound of someone walking along behind her. They were good, but Locke had taught her well on their little island jungle adventures. She could hear them. Figuring that it was better to be safe than sorry, she took off running.

* * *

_Scarlett clutched her rolling suitcase tighter as she made her way across the rug floor, checking gate numbers carefully. _

_"Flight four sixteen to Chicago is now boarding," announced the prim voice over the loudspeaker. Scarlett checked her ticket again. Flight two thirty four. Gate sixteen. She glanced at the gate number to her right and saw that she was getting close. Two gates up ahead, she spotted sixteen and made her way towards it with a heavy sigh of thanks. Once there she sat down on one of the chairs, dropping all her luggage with a loud bang._

_She glanced at her watch. Only twenty minutes until the plane boarded, but she was still absolutely terrified. What if Stephen found out she was leaving and came after her? What if Carol told him or Anthony? She didn't know what she would do…run, maybe? Airport security would certainly see to it that he didn't hurt her. But what if she found herself facing him and felt that old familiar feeling…the one when she knew she should be running from him but couldn't force herself to leave his side. She knew it was likely that that would happen; the pity would overwhelm her and she would feel horrible for even considering leaving him, despite all that he had done to her. _

_She told herself that she wouldn't let that happen, but she knew that if she found herself standing in front of him, staring into those eyes of his, that it most likely would. _

_"Bad day?"_

_Scarlett jumped in surprise and looked up at the man standing in front of her who had just spoken in a soft Australian accent. _

_"Y…yes," she stammered ungracefully. _

_"I hear ya," the man said sadly. "This seat taken?"_

_"Not at all," Scarlett said quickly. _

_"Flying alone then?" the man asked. He had light blonde hair that was cut short and a healthy tan. He looked like the stereotypical Australian always depicted in movies. He also looked around her age, maybe a little older. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett said, biting her lip._

_"Me too," the man said, grinning at her. He stuck out a hand. "I'm Frank, by the way."_

_"Scarlett," Scarlett replied, shaking it. "What brought you to L.A., Frank."_

_"Visiting my family," Frank replied, rolling his eyes. "Not really a pleasurable experience. Hence the bad day."_

_"Yeah…visiting the family can suck sometimes," Scarlett said conversationally, though she couldn't hide the bitter expression. _

_"Don't get along well with your family?" Frank asked curiously. Scarlett laughed slightly under her breath, though there was no humor present in her tone._

_"Don't got a family," she responded. Frank looked at her sympathetically. _

_"Well, I lived in an orphanage for the better part of my early life…so I know where you're coming from a little, if that helps."_

_"It does, thanks," Scarlett lied politely, smiling at Frank. _

_"Why you going to Australia, then?" he asked. Scarlett grinned._

_"I'm going to live with the one bit of living family I _do _have," she said. "My aunt Sarah. My…great aunt."_

_"Why not just get an apartment by yourself here in L.A.?" Frank asked curiously. "You're old enough, aren't you?"_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly. "But I'm trying to leave some things in L.A. behind. Trust me, I wouldn't be going if I thought there was any other way." She chuckled humorlessly again and looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "I just want to kind of start over with my life, you know?"_

_"Yeah," Frank said, nodding. "I've had that feeling before, believe me. And, if you ask me, Australia is the best place to do it."_

_Scarlett smiled at Frank genuinely. _

_"Thanks," she said softly. "I'm glad I have your vote of confidence for my choice._

_"No problem," Frank said with a grin. "I hope your new life goes well, Scarlett. I'm going to go buy a coffee." He stood up and made ready to go, then stopped. "Hey…you wanna come with? My treat."_

_"Oh…no, that's…" Scarlett started, but Frank promptly cut her off._

_"No, no, none of that. I insist. Come on." He smiled at her pleadingly, and she laughed, standing up. _

_"All right," she said. "Coffee sounds great."_

_"Ace!" Frank exclaimed, grabbing his lone bag and taking one of Scarlett's, leaving Scarlett to carry only one. "Coffee it is."

* * *

_

Scarlett managed to make it back to the beach, out of breath and panting heavily. When she got there, she saw Jack and Eddie and Sayid standing in a circle and talking. She turned and looked back at the trees, but there was nothing there. She could have sworn that she heard rustling bushes, but she wasn't sure. The sound of the waves was too loud to really hear.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath angrily, running a hand through her hair and moving over to her things.

"Saw you runnin' out of the jungle there, Sox," came Sawyer's drawl suddenly. Scarlett turned to face him, still breathing heavier than was normal.

"Yeah," she said simply. Sawyer was sitting and leaning against one of the wooden posts of his shelter.

"Why was that?" he asked casually.

"I heard something in the woods," she said. "Footsteps. But when I called out to see who was there, they didn't answer. They were following me, so I just ran."

Sawyer actually looked concerned, rather than making some joke about how maybe Scarlett was starting to go crazy.

"Are you sure?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"Positive," Scarlett said with conviction. There was no doubt in her mind that someone had been following her. No doubt at all. She sighed and sat down in the sand in front of Sawyer, all desire to go get her things suddenly gone. "So you heard about Claire?"

"How could I not?" Sawyer asked, smirking. "It's all everyone's been talking about. I even got a hug out of Freckles over it." He grinned charmingly, showing off his neat little dimples.

"Leave it to you, Sawyer," Scarlett said with a laugh, shaking her head.

"I really am glad she's back," Sawyer said seriously. "Now you can stop going crazy."

"Yeah…that's a plus," Scarlett said with a laugh, turning and glancing at the three 'leaders', who were still chatting seriously.

"What you think they're talkin' about?" Sawyer asked, nodding his head to indicate Jack, Sayid, and Eddie. Scarlett sighed and shook her head. Sawyer frowned. "Maybe you should tell them about what just happened."

"They'd probably just say I was imagining it," Scarlett said with some bitterness in her tone. "You know Jack."

"Yeah," Sawyer drawled, leaning back more in the sand and sighing with content. "Unfortunately."

Scarlett grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"So what's up with you and Kate?" Scarlett asked after a pause. Sawyer groaned and made a face.

"Let's not talk about that, Sox," he remarked. "Ain't nothin' to talk about, really. I don't know why it's such a big deal."

Scarlett smirked but decided to drop it. It was clear that Sawyer had feelings for Kate, though she figured that even he had no idea what they were exactly. Sawyer didn't seem like the type to get all mushy inside, so on his end it was probably mostly physical attraction. However, as much as Sawyer seemed like the typical shallow redneck, Scarlett knew he wasn't. So maybe there was something a little deeper…

She wasn't sure. At the moment, she had more pressing matters to deal with, though she wasn't sure how to go about dealing with them. She decided rather quickly that she would just get her book and head back with Sayid, since she knew she could probably get him to go with her. Sayid was a gentlemen, unlike many of the other men on the island, who would probably put her safety over his own, though they really hadn't spoken in a while, not since she and Boone had become an 'item'. Sawyer claimed that it was because he had been betting on Scarlett hooking up with Jack, which was probably the worst thing you could possibly bet on. It didn't really matter. Scarlett wasn't all that inclined to believe Sawyer anyway

"I gotta go," she said, standing up. "I told Claire I was only going to get that book."

"You want me to go back with you?" Sawyer asked, sounding concerned. "After hearing whatever the hell you heard in there…you probably shouldn't…you know…go out there...alone."

"Thanks, Sawyer," Scarlett said, slightly surprised. She would have expected Sawyer to be the kind of person who would stay away from the jungle on first hint of something dangerous. But he was offering to walk her back to the caves, which also involved using a lot of Sawyer's precious energy. "Are you sure?"

"Hell, Sox, I ain't one to let a woman traipse off into danger country unprotected."

"Funny, I always thought of you as the kind of guy who wouldn't lift a finger to save anyone's ass," Scarlett retorted, smiling sweetly. Sawyer snorted.

"Darlin', if it was anyone else, I'd probably say go get yourself killed for all I care, but you're one of the few people on this island who I actually can have a somewhat decent conversation with. There ain't no way I'm lettin' you go out there without me with you."

"Thanks," Scarlett said simply. "Let me get my stuff and I'll be right back."

"Take your time," Sawyer said, waving a hand. Scarlett smiled and walked off to get Claire's book.

* * *

Boone and Locke returned to the caves only twenty minutes or so after they had left, after Locke had decided that it really wasn't safe to be out in the jungle. He claimed that the forest just 'didn't feel as safe' as it had. Personally, Boone had never found the jungle all that safe to begin with, so it was no big loss to him, but Locke seemed genuinely upset about it.

Boone walked into the caves slowly, yawning tiredly as he looked around for Scarlett. He spotted Claire, but she was sitting alone, reading her diary. A quick look around the caves revealed that Scarlett was nowhere to be found. He headed over to Claire with a small but growing feeling of fear.

"Hey, Claire?" he said nervously. "Where's Scarlett?"

Claire looked up with surprise and then smiled when she saw him.

"Oh, she went down to the beach to go get something for me," Claire replied. Boone nodded and sighed with relief, but suddenly Locke was at his side, looking down at Claire urgently.

"Was she alone?" he asked her. Claire gave him a puzzled look and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I offered to go with her, but she said she'd taken that path so many times she knew it in her sleep."

Locke ran a hand over his head and turned to look at the opening in the trees where the path began. Boone noticed that it looked unusually dark and shadowy. He told himself that he was being stupid and turned back to Locke.

"What's wrong?" he asked the older man. Locke snapped out of whatever reverie he was in and turned to face Claire again.

"How long ago did she leave?" he asked urgently. Boone was starting to get worried.

"About ten minutes ago," Claire said slowly. She was starting to look nervous as well. "Why?"

"Because she may be in danger," Locke replied, and with that he turned and walked towards the path. Boone, without a second thought, hurried after him.

* * *

Scarlett and Sawyer started off into the woods, ambling at Sawyer's sluggish pace, both of them alert and ready to run at the first sign of trouble. Sawyer walked very close to Scarlett, his eyes roaming the trees in front of them and to the side of them almost at the same time. Scarlett just let him do what he wanted; she knew he was good at this.

"Shh," he said suddenly, stopping in his tracks. Scarlett froze a moment later, and a moment after her, another set off footsteps screeched to a halt. Scarlett whirled and looked over her shoulder, but there was no one there.

"Shit," she muttered.

"I want you to start runnin'," Sawyer whispered, "And no matter what…"

"Oh don't start that bullshit!" Scarlett whispered hoarsely in return. "If I'm running, you're running right next to me."

"Dammit, Sox, don't try to be all heroic here…" Sawyer started with some irritation.

"_I'm _trying to be the hero? Oh, _please_, Sawyer!"

With that, Scarlett grabbed Sawyer's hand, and tugged him along as they both started running, faster and faster through the trees. Scarlett had been along the path so many times that she would have been able to run the perilous course in the dark, but Sawyer was having a little more trouble. He kept yelling at her to slow down, but she just yelled back for him to move his ass a little faster.

Suddenly, as Scarlett turned to yell over her shoulder at Sawyer once again, she ran full on into someone. In the shock, she fell over straight onto her ass, the air knocked out of her as she stared up to the person she had just hit.

"Scarlett!" Boone exclaimed, bending down to help her up. "Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and…" he glanced at Sawyer, who had just run up to them, panting and very obviously out of breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the other man replied, though he certainly didn't look it. "There was someone following us."

"What?" Locke asked, suddenly appearing out of the trees, lagging behind much like Sawyer yet not showing any traces of fatigue.

"Someone was following us," Scarlett repeated, looking over her shoulder as Boone grabbed her arms in his hands reflexively.

"How do you know?" he asked, glancing at Locke worriedly.

"When I was on my way down here," Scarlett explained in a rushed voice. "I heard someone walking behind me. I just thought it was someone coming to the beach, but when I called out, no one answered. They were hiding."

"Hiding?" Locke murmured, his eyes narrow slits as they roamed the area in front of them.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Then me and Sawyer were heading back, and we heard it again."

"Did you hear it too?" Locke asked Sawyer. The other man nodded, not quite able to catch his breath just yet.

"What, you think I'm crazy?" Scarlett asked, clearly offended.

"No," Locke replied absently, still looking into the trees. "Sawyer, I think it would be better if you headed back to the beach."

"Are you out of your damn mind?" Sawyer asked incredulously, still panting. "There's somethin' back there!"

"You'll be fine," Locke assured him. "They're not after you."

Scarlett glanced at Boone, and he raised his eyebrows, looking back at Sawyer with the worry clear on his face.

"You sure?" Sawyer asked skeptically. "Because that would mean that they're after Scarlett."

"I don't know anything for sure," Locke replied. "Except that they won't hurt you."

"Yeah, whatever," Sawyer said, obviously past caring.

"Be careful," Scarlett offered worriedly.

"Yeah, thanks," Sawyer muttered, turning and walking back in the direction of the caves, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. Scarlett watched him go with worry, and when he was out of sight, she turned to Locke, who had his eyes focused somewhere in the distance, a small smile on his lips.

"What was that all about?" she asked him furiously. He looked at her with surprise, breaking whatever eye contact he had with the bush or whatever it was he had been staring at.

"What?" he asked her, obviously having _no _clue what she was talking about.

"Sending Sawyer back there alone! And what did you mean, they're not after him? You think they're after me?"

"That's something I want to research further before I claim anything," Locke answered cryptically, in typical Locke fashion. Then, he turned and started walking away. "But I'd stay close…take out your knives. You never know what might be out here."

Contrary to his words, the tone of his voice suggested that he knew _exactly _what was out there.

* * *

Despite their various fears, they all made it back to the caves safely and without further incident. Scarlett had a feeling that whoever was following her was scared of Locke. Or Boone, but…no…they had to be scared of Locke. She had to admit; she would be scared of the man too if she wasn't such good friends with him.

As soon as they got in sight of other people, Locke turned to Boone.

"Can I have a word with Scarlett alone, please?" he asked. Boone arched an eyebrow but nodded silently and moved off after a reassuring glance in Scarlett's direction. Scarlett watched him go reluctantly and then turned to Locke, waiting.

"You gonna tell me why you think someone was after me?" she asked. "Or who the _hell _you think it was?"

"I'm not positive about who it was," Locke admitted. "But I have a few ideas as to why they might be after you."

"And why might that be?" Scarlett asked. Locke smiled at her fondly.

"You know I never married, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly, giving him an unhappy glare, not understanding where this conversation was going. Locke just chuckled.

"And because I never married, I never had any children."

"I know," Scarlett said impatiently. "But what does that…"

"You and Boone, to me, are like my children," Locke explain. He paused and laughed under his breath slightly. "Or, rather, Boone's like my son and you're like my daughter-in-law, I suppose."

"Oh…" Scarlett said with a pleased smile. She had certainly looked up to Locke as a fatherly sort of figure, but she never knew that he thought so highly of her as to call her a daughter. Or a daughter-in-law. Whatever. It was still pleasing.

"And I care about the two of you more than I've cared about anyone in a long, long time. You're both good kids, and I'd do anything to protect the two of you from any harm." Locke gave her a look that she figured she was supposed to read and figure out what he was talking about, but she had no idea what he was getting at.

"Thank you," she said slowly, uncertainly. "I guess…yeah, you're kind of like a father to me too. I…" she smiled sadly at him. "I never really had a father."

"Me neither," Locke replied, putting a hand out and resting it on her shoulder. "Hopefully I can give you what my father and your father never gave us."

"And hopefully I can give you what the daughter you never had never gave you," Scarlett replied, feeling inexplicably peaceful.

"Hopefully," Locke said with a smile. He turned and looked at Boone, who was sitting over by the waterfall, staring off into space with a dazed look in his eye. "Now…about you being followed…"

"Yes, about that," Scarlett said, happy to be back on the topic.

"I think you should talk to Jack about it," Locke said mysteriously, smirking at her. "If you talk to him long enough…I think you'll figure it out."

With that, he gave her shoulder one more comforting squeeze, then turned and walked off into the trees again. Scarlett stared after him with her mouth wide open. That was all he was going to tell her?

"Oh, fuck you," she muttered darkly, though admittedly she wasn't feeling all that angry at the moment. She sighed and started moving over towards Boone, when suddenly she heard someone coming out of the trees behind her. She turned to face them, heaving a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Eddie and Jeff.

"Hey!" Eddie exclaimed, smiling brightly at her. Jeff smiled dimly before turning and walking towards the fire, where Alicia was sitting. Scarlett looked after him curiously but then shrugged and turned to Eddie.

"What's up?" she asked, admittedly curious to see what he would say about his trip to the caves.

"Not much," Eddie said. "We just decided to come back up here for the night. Did you hear about Ethan?"

If Scarlett had been drinking water, she would have spat it out. As it was, she somehow found herself short of breath, like she had just been running for miles.

"Ethan?" she asked, her voice squeaking a bit. She turned to look at Boone and saw that Locke was suddenly by his side, talking to him in an urgent whisper. She turned back to Eddie, her face paling. "What about him? Is Claire okay?"

"Claire's fine," Eddie said in a soothing voice, gesturing towards the trees. "She's right there."

Scarlett looked and saw that Claire was, indeed, sitting by the tall grass near the cave, reading her diary and rubbing her hand over her pregnant stomach. She sighed with relief and laughed nervously.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just…what happened?"

"He threatened Charlie in the woods," Eddie said, keeping his voice low. He glanced at Claire. "Don't tell her. Charlie doesn't want her to get worried."

"So he's back," Scarlett said darkly. Eddie nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said sadly. "He is. And he said that until we give Claire back, he's going to kill one of us after the other."

"God…" Scarlett ran a hand through her hair, watching Claire with obvious reluctance in her gaze. It was such a horrible thing to happen on Claire's first day back with them. Though she should have figured that Ethan wouldn't let her go without a fight. "What are they gonna do about it?"

Eddie shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted. "They were talking about it when I left. Locke's heading down there now."

Scarlett glanced over at Locke and Boone and saw that they were indeed heading into the trees.

"I should probably go with them…" she started, but Eddie shook his head.

"Locke told me to keep you here," he said. "He said that you'd understand."

"Yeah," Scarlett said slowly, turning and looking back towards where she could just see Locke disappearing into the foliage. What made him so sure that she was safe there at the caves? Without him and Boone to defend her with the camp's only weapons, she was just as vulnerable as she was out in the trees. Besides, she felt a hell of a lot better with Locke and Boone with her than with anyone else. And Sayid, Sawyer, Jack, Kate…anyone who might _know _how to protect her were all down at the beach. "Fabulous."

She wondered how Locke had enough time to instruct Eddie when he had just come out of the trees. When she asked Eddie, he just smirked at her.

"Locke seems to have this habit of planning ahead," he replied cryptically. It seemed that Locke was passing on his habit of not really telling anyone anything while pretending to. Scarlett prayed it didn't spread to anyone else.

"Meaning?" she asked impatiently. Predictably, Eddie just smirked and walked over towards Alicia and Jeff. Scarlett threw her hands up in the air and stalked over towards Claire.

"Hey," she said to the pregnant girl once she took a seat beside her.

"Hey!" Claire exclaimed happily. She put the diary down on top of her stomach. Scarlett grinned.

"A few days after we crashed," she began, gesturing to the book. "We were sitting on the beach reading, and you said that you used your stomach as a book holder."

"I do!" Claire laughed. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her stomach, looking down at it with a fond smile.

"Have you felt it kicking?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah," Claire said with a chuckle. "The question is: when's it gonna stop? I think it's running around in there!"

Scarlett laughed and glanced over to where she saw Eddie whispering conspiratorially with Alicia and Jeff. Alicia glanced over at Claire with a frown. Scarlett sighed and started to look away when she saw Charlie appear out of the trees, followed by Jack.

"I should probably go see Jack about my headaches," she lied quickly, and she stood up before the other woman could say anything, hurrying over to Charlie. When he saw her coming, he beckoned her over.

"You didn't say anything to her, did you?" he asked.

"Not about Ethan, no," Scarlett whispered in reply. "But I think she should know, Charlie. She has a right."

"We're trying to figure out what to do," Jack said. "And Charlie thinks that maybe for now we should just keep a little quiet. We don't want to put too much stress on Claire."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed. Scarlett bit her lip and nodded, glancing back at Claire furtively.

"Where are Boone and John?" she asked. "Did they come back with you?"

"They're staying at the beach," Jack replied. Scarlett sighed.

"And I'm guessing they told you to make sure I stay here," she said.

"Yeah," Jack replied with a small smile. Then his smile faded. "Though I'm still not sure why."

"John has this idea that I'm in danger," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. "He thinks there's someone following me in the woods. And there was someone fallowing me, but John thinks that he's following _me_, specifically."

"Why does he think that?" Jack asked, his brow furrowing. Neither of them noticed Charlie sneaking off to talk to Claire. Jack put his hands on his hips and squinted thoughtfully at Scarlett.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "He said that if I talked to you long enough, I should figure it out." Jack thought for a moment, glancing over at the trees and frowning.

"I have no idea what he might be talking about," he said apologetically.

"I didn't think you would," Scarlett admitted. "Sometimes I think John's just a little crazy."

"Sometimes I think we all are," Jack replied with a huff of a laugh, running his hand over his head and squeezing his eyes shut for a brief moment.

"What are you planning on doing about Ethan?" Scarlett asked. Jack shrugged and shook his head at the same time.

"I have no idea," he said, sounding lost. "I _wish _I knew what do to. Locke suggested that we have a perimeter of guards, and he's setting some traps with Sayid right now. There will probably be people here too, at the caves, taking watch."

"I'll take watch," Scarlett offered. Jack nodded.

"All right," he said. "You can take first watch with me."

Scarlett nodded, though the prospect of sitting up for three hours with no one but Jack to talk to wasn't exactly a thrilling one.

"How many people during watches?" she asked.

"Two at each station…probably three or four stations. Six to eight people."

"All without letting Claire know?" Scarlett asked skeptically.

"We'll tell her we do this every night. She won't know the difference."

Scarlett grinned and nodded begrudgingly.

"That's true," she admitted. "What about weapons?"

"Sharpened sticks and a few knives," Jack said with a heavy sigh, looking away with feigned casualness. Scarlett almost laughed. He was such a bad liar. She knew there was probably some other form of protection; one that Jack didn't want anyone to know about. Maybe there were more knives, or maybe they had found more bullets for the marshal's gun.

"And that's it?" she asked with just a hint of mocking. Jack glanced at her nervously, but nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I have to go check up on some stuff. I'll come get you when we're ready to start that watch."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding. "See you then."

Jack turned and walked over to the infirmary, and Scarlett sat down on a rock near the waterfall, sighing heavily and wishing she had gotten something other than Claire's present at the beach. Thinking of that reminded her that she did indeed have Claire's present, but after glancing at Claire and seeing that she and Charlie were having a nice conversation, she decided to save it for later and instead settled herself with watching the fire contentedly.


	53. Homecoming Part 3

Okay, here we go…new chapter!

I'll admit, I'm in an absolutely terrible mood…but at the same time I'm thoroughly happy and slightly excited. Because my friend who I have this huge crush on just broke up with his girlfriend…who I hate. Actually, she broke up with him, which doesn't really matter…but yet it does because now he's wicked upset about it, hence the terrible mood. But I'm still happy because they're broken up. It's an odd feeling.

Anyway

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and New Year! I got an Ipod for Christmas and named it Jared after Jared Leto, my future husband. (You can find out allll about my future husbands on my Xanga, hahahaha.)

By the WAY….30 Seconds to Mars…listen to them. Fall in love with them. Help me convert more people (: at least 7 people personally converted by myself…the band's now spreading through my school like wildfire…it's so awesome. I love myself for it! Hahaha.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again! You know how I love my reviews! Lol.

**Tasha:** Yes! You snuck into my brain! How did you DO that! Hahaha. I agree that it was a very un-Sawyerly thing to do. Scarlett has indeed told Sawyer that she never killed a man, though I assure you the truth will come out…I'm just not gonna tell you when (: . Wow, you can't even take LESSONS till 17 or 18? That's really different from here. Though I suppose it must lower the auto accident rates, hahaha. Thanks for reviewing! I hope you had a good Christmas as well!

**JimmyP:** Merry Christmas to you too! Haha, I'm glad someone noticed the flight number. I was hoping someone would pick it up! Oh, Scarlett and Sawyer being followed wasn't necessarily Ethan…hehehe. But I'm so evil, I'm not going to tell you who it was. Moohaha. Yeah, Sawyer's been kind of out of the picture for a while, but he's back in action and going strong! Hahaha. I'm not sayin nothing about potential relationships :D Lips are zipppppped. (: Thanks for the review!

**Tawney:** Hehehe, I love Christmas too! Too bad it's over now, lol. That's a sad thought. I sadly don't have a car yet, and probably won't have one for a while, though I use my mother's car when she doesn't need it. Speaking of cars…I went to the movies with my friends Steve, Sarah, and Pete (crush kid, ooo, ooo) and Steve was driving…and MY GOD that kid doesn't know what speed limit means. It was so scary, lol. I was like hunched over in the back seat. Hahaha. But no, Frank isn't in the new series. He's just a creation of my own who will introduce Scarlett to Kevin, her last boyfriend in Australia. And yeah, I wanted a nice sweet Locke moment before Scarlett starts hating him with a passion, hehehee. Omg, A Walk to Remember is actually the one movie I didn't cry at. And I seriously do not know why! It's the kind of movie that WOULD make me cry too, but it just doesn't! It's so messed up. You know what made me bawl my eyes out, though? The Family Stone. It was just in theaters, and made me cry so hard. It was supposed to be a comedy too, but it ended up being sad. But it was soooo goooood! Hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Homecoming (3): **R.I.P.

_"So, your aunt really set the Christmas Tree on fire?" Scarlett asked incredulously, laughing. Frank nodded vehemently. _

_"Yeah!" he exclaimed in his soft Australian accent. "It just went right up! It was horrifying at the time, but now it's just hysterical."_

_"Oh my God," Scarlett laughed, wiping tears out of her eyes. "That's just…" She shook with laughter again, and Frank joined her. "I can just _picture _it."_

_"Oh God, it was funny," Frank chuckled. "I think it's safe to say that she won't be allowed to many family parties in the future."_

_"I wouldn't think so!" Scarlett replied, chuckling again. She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee, leaning back against her chair, thinking. "I don't think I have any really funny Christmas stories…"She paused and thought a little harder, then grinned. "Well, there was the time my brother Anthony went to go put the star on top of the tree and it completely fell over onto him. Me and my mother couldn't get it up, so we had to run across the street and get the neighbor."_

_Frank laughed and shook his head. _

_"I can picture that too. The poor bloke must have been spewin'!"_

_"Spewing?" Scarlett asked, giving Frank a questioning look. _

_"Spewin'," Frank said with a chuckle. "It means angry."_

_"Oh," Scarlett said, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm not really familiar with…"_

_"Oh, don't worry about it, love," Frank interrupted. "Not many Americans know what the hell we're saying half the time. But don't fret; you'll learn quick enough."_

_"I sure hope so," Scarlett said with a laugh. "Well, I'm already one foot in. Spewin'…angry."_

_"Angry," Frank confirmed. "See! You're a natural! Now come on, let's get back to our terminal and get ready to get on the plane."_

_Before Scarlett could even move, Frank had his bag and one of hers up on his shoulders and was carrying his trash over to the can. Scarlett smiled and stood up, shouldering the only other bag she had to carry, following Frank back to her terminal with a new sense of hope.

* * *

_

After about ten minutes, Scarlett got bored of watching the fire and glanced over at Claire. The pregnant woman was finally alone, reading the diary in her hands thoughtfully. Scarlett grinned and stood up, taking the notebook with her and clutching it to her stomach, almost self-consciously.

"Hey," she said once she got closer to Claire. The other girl looked up with surprise, then grinned.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, putting down the diary on her stomach. "There you are. I was wondering when you'd come back."

"I got a little sidetracked," Scarlett explained. Claire nodded, and Scarlett quickly changed the subject. "And I have something for you. I had it earlier, but something came up and I totally forgot about it. But I have it now, and here it is."

She gave Claire the present and smiled sadly.

"Did you make this?" Claire asked as she read the front cover, which said 'Everything you missed'. Scarlett nodded.

"Though it might not do much good," she said with a sigh. "Because you don't really remember _anything_."

"I'm sure it will help," Claire said, smiling at Scarlett thankfully. "And thank you so much. It seems like you put a lot of work into it."

Scarlett simply smiled. She had put a hell of a lot of work into that notebook, and was actually rather proud of how it came out. She watched as Claire flipped open to the first page and chuckled slightly at the captions and pictures describing Shannon and Sawyer's fight. Scarlett smiled as well. That all seemed so long ago, and yet it was only a little more than a week, maybe less. How could time move that slowly?

* * *

Kate entered the caves about an hour after Scarlett and Claire sat down to read the present, her eyes roaming the area for Jack. When she saw him, she moved towards him purposefully.

"You look hungry," she said casually, looking down at him as he sharpened a knife on a rock. He looked over his shoulder, and she tossed him an apple. He caught it and smiled.

"Thanks," he said. Kate took that as an invitation and removed her backpack before sitting down next to Jack as he started to cut a slice off the apple.

"Locke told us what happened," she said conversationally. "Why do you think he wants her back?"

Jack ate the piece of his apple, then answered, "I don't know," while shaking his head. Kate looked down at the ground, then took a deep breath and said what she had been carefully rehearsing all during the walk to the caves.

"Maybe it's time that you use that key you've been wearing around your neck," she said slowly. "There are four nine-millimeters in the Marshal's case…"

Jack shook his head quickly.

"Uh-uh," he said in a voice much like that of a small child, Kate noticed. "No. I hand them out, someone hears something out in the jungle, gets scared…the chances of us shooting each other are much higher than of us shooting him."

Kate sighed and looked him in the eyes for once.

"We're beyond sharpening knives here, Jack," she said pointedly.

"I'm not putting guns in untrained hands," Jack replied, just as pointedly.

"Who says they have to be untrained?" Kate asked, arching her eyebrows at him. Jack gave her a questioning look, and Kate sighed, putting her elbows on her knees and twisting to face him. "Sayid is a trained soldier. We know that much. He, obviously, knows how to use a gun, and isn't one to panic if he hears the slightest noise. Do you really think putting a gun in his hands is endangering anyone's life but Ethan's?"

"We hand out one gun, everyone's going to want one," Jack said bitterly. "And Sayid can only be in one place. If he's at the beach, and we're at the caves, only one area will have protection."

"Better than no areas having protection," Kate said in a low voice. "And if we're going for equality here, then give a gun to me."

Jack looked at Kate with surprise. He had known she was a criminal, but the conviction in her tone and the meaning of her words surprised him. If he didn't want guns in untrained hands, and she was saying that she should have a gun…did that mean she was trained? Jack didn't want to know.

"No," he said simply. Kate frowned at him sourly.

"Jack," she said calmly, though her expression was far from calm. "Just think about it for a minute…"

"We're not using the guns, Kate," Jack said, standing up and walking away with the knife in his hands before Kate could even reply. She sighed and slumped in her seat, feeling very defeated. She heard some movement to her left and glanced over there, smiling as Scarlett sidled into view, looking like a child who knows she's about to be scolded.

"I know eavesdropping is wrong," she said cheekily, "but this was for pure gossiping interests, I promise you."

"It's all right," Kate said with a laugh, patting the rock beside her. "Come on. Sit."

"So I hear there are guns," Scarlett said with a small smile as she sat.

"You're going to gossip about guns, now?" Kate asked, smirking. "That's so unlike you."

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "But I didn't want to get too predictable, you know."

"Oh, of course," Kate agreed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But yeah, there's guns…and Jack doesn't want to use them? I don't get it."

"He thinks that we're all going to end up accidentally massacring each other or something," Kate said with a sigh. Scarlett nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that," she said. Kate gave her a look.

"How long were you hiding there for?" she asked.

"I was changing and saw you coming so decided to hang out there for a little while," Scarlett explained. "So…basically the whole time." She grinned, and Kate couldn't help but grin in return.

"Well, then I don't get why you don't see why Jack doesn't want to use the guns."

"Oh, I heard why he_ said _he doesn't want to use them," Scarlett agreed. "I just think it's stupid for not wanting to."

"Oh…well…" Kate said, obviously reluctant to say what was on her mind; a.k.a. that Jack was being stupid.

"He's being stupid, and you know it," Scarlett interrupted. "We've got trained people on this island." She stopped and gave Kate a look. "Evidently. And we need more protection than frigging pointed sticks. I think you're right; we need the guns."

"Jack's just trying to protect us," Kate said slowly. "And only two people with guns isn't going to offer much protection anyway."

"Like you said, it's better than none," Scarlett argued. "And it doesn't matter to me if he's _trying _to protect us. If he fails at that, the effort means nothing. And besides, I can use a gun if I really had to."

"You're trained?" Kate asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Unofficially," Scarlett replied. "This guy I met on the plane to Australia, Frank, he taught me how to shoot after I ran into him when my aunt Sarah died. He was pretty good, and he made sure I was even better."

"Have you ever shot a man before?" Kate asked bitterly, before she remembered what Scarlett had told her so long ago when she had explained her early past to her friend.

"Yes," Scarlett said regardless, with just as much bitterness. "I have." She sighed and stood up, suddenly looking very tired. "Just…think about what I said, and maybe talk to Jack a little more carefully about it, okay?"

Kate nodded, but it didn't really matter because Scarlett already had her back turned as she moved over to a blanket that she was apparently sleeping on to take a nap before her watch. Kate sighed and looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling very sad.

* * *

Scarlett was shaken awake roughly, and she sat up, ready to lash out at whoever it was. When she saw that it was Jack, the urge to lash out and pretend that she thought it was Ethan was strong, but in the end she decided against it.

"Time for the watch?" she asked with mocking cheer. Jack chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah," he said. Scarlett suppressed the sarcastic 'woo-hoo' that was threatening to build inside of her. Instead, she just got to her feet and followed Jack over to the edge of the woods. He handed her a stick, and she didn't bother to reveal to him that she had a knife as well. She just sat with him, and they peered into the trees watchfully.

* * *

After three hours of that, Scarlett was about ready to stab _herself_ in the heart with that stick. Things couldn't get much more boring, she decided, when she started counting the number of snores that Hurley snored, the number of breaths that Jack breathed, and the number of muttering angry bursts that Sullivan muttered to himself. After Hurley's total number of snores reached one hundred and eight, she was about to scream with frustration when Jack turned to her, looking tired.

"Let's wake up Hurley and Charlie now," he said. Scarlet resisted the urge to cheer, and instead nodded calmly and stood up, moving over to Hurley and waking him with a shove before he could snore again. He shook himself awake, looking disoriented.

"What?" he asked groggily, looking around as if he expected to see the encampment under attack. When he noticed that Scarlett was standing over him with a very amused expression on her face, he grinned sheepishly and stood up slowly.

"Have fun," she said sarcastically. He chuckled deeply.

"Thanks," he muttered, and then he walked over towards where Charlie was already standing. Scarlett turned and walked over to where Claire was sleeping, lying down next to her and closing her eyes to sleep.

* * *

_A scream awoke Scarlett from her deep sleep, and she sat up swiftly, gathering the blanket around her. Jack was standing at the other side of the caves, staring at something in the trees. Kate and Shannon stood on other side of him. Shannon had her hands to her mouth; it was she who had screamed. _

_"What happened?" Scarlett asked, lurching to her feet. All three heads snapped towards her, and Jack swiftly stepped in front of the other two women._

_"Don't look," he said authoritatively, but when Scarlett stepped forward to see what they were looking at, he moved out of the way, offering no resistance. _

_Scarlett immediately wished that she hadn't. Boone's lifeless body was hanging from a tree right in the camp, and beneath him lay another body, a body that was bathed in darkness and covered in shadows, so she couldn't see who it was. She didn't care, at the moment. She screamed at the sight of Boone, flying backwards and turning her back as wave after wave of nausea washed over her. Shannon started sobbing again, and Scarlett closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to rise in her throat. _

_"I told you," Stephen's voice whispered in her ear. "I told you this wasn't paradise. You knew it was too good to be true."_

_Far off in the distance, she thought she heard someone shouting her name. But the voice, deep and definitely male sounding, was too distant, and she couldn't make out what it was trying to tell her. Stephen's whispers overrode the shouts, and she found herself listening to his lies. "I miss you baby. I love you so much…you know I never meant to hurt you. You know I'll never do it again, baby. You know me."_

_She closed her eyes against the tears and turned to look at Boone again, but his body was gone, and in its place only a bloody noose remained, swinging gently in the breeze. Losing all strength, her knees bucked and she fell to the ground, sobbing openly now as the whispers continued. She knew there was no happy ending to this. She knew the only option now was to give up.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke when the first rays of sunlight were creeping through the trees and falling on her face. She sighed and opened her eyes, flinching at the brightness and rolling over onto her stomach before deciding that she didn't want to lay there anyway. Claire was still sleeping. In fact, _everyone_ was still sleeping, other than Sullivan and Jeff, who were still up and keeping watch. Scarlett glanced around and saw that Eddie had fallen asleep at his post. She grinned to herself and got to her feet quietly, careful to not make any noise.

She walked over to the entrance, slipping past Eddie carefully and hurrying down the path towards the beach, feeling a small thrill of fear and a bigger one of exhilaration. She felt like she was sneaking out of the house or something. It was a great feeling, and she even found herself sure and light-footed as she practically skipped her way along the faint path.

She didn't hear anyone following her, either, and by the time she had reached the beach, she had almost forgotten that there was ever a threat in the first place. She spotted Sayid talking to some woman who she had seen around, but had never really taken the time to get to know, and headed over to him. When Sayid saw her, he looked surprised.

"Scarlett!" he exclaimed in his heavy accent, excusing himself from the woman, who looked pissed off. "I thought Locke wanted you to stay at the caves."

"He did," Scarlett said with a bright smile. "But I didn't want to. Do you know where Boone is?"

"Scarlett," Sayid said with a sigh, shaking his head. "You of all people should know that it's dangerous out there. You should have waited for Locke to get you."

"No one followed me or anything," Scarlett said, shrugging. As fate would have it, at that moment, there was a loud crashing noise from within the jungle. Sayid's eyes grew wide, and he sprinted off towards where it came from. Moments later, Scarlett saw Locke sprinting after him. She frowned and began to walk slowly towards the trees, but stopped when something caught her eye on the beach a little ways down. She frowned and walked a little quicker. Someone was lying on the beach, facedown. It wasn't just the fact that they were laying there that drew Scarlett's attention. It was the _way _they were laying.

"Umm…Steve?" she said tentatively, but then she noticed that the hair was slightly long in the back. "Scott?" He still didn't move. She bent down, then saw that there was something wrong. His neck was twisted at an odd angle. Suddenly realizing what she was seeing, she screamed.

A few people, who were nearby, ran over when she fell down in the sand in her shock, pushing herself away from Scott's immobile body. For a horrifying moment, Scarlett thought that maybe Sawyer had done it. After all, he _had _threatened the man earlier. But then she realized that it had to be Ethan. Ethan had stuck to his promise.

By the time Locke and Sayid reached her, there was a crowd gathered around, staring at the body as if they had never seen anything like it before. As if they hadn't been in a plane crash with a large number of casualties only a month before.

Suddenly, Scarlett felt arms around her waist, and she turned to see Boone, flinging her arms around him in relief. She hadn't even realized that she was worried about him until she saw him, standing there, alive and well. The thought that the same thing that happened to Scott could have happened to him was too frightening to even comprehend.

"What happened?" Boone asked, horrified.

"Is he alive?" Sayid asked. He flipped Scott's body over, and the crowd flinched back.

"Oh, God," Boone said, sounding sickened.

"How did he get past us?" Sayid asked, sounding extremely enraged. Boone knelt down beside the body and checked for a pulse. Sayid sat back on his heels and put a hand to his head.

"Maybe it wasn't Ethan," Randy suggested. Scarlett turned to look at Locke, and saw that he was staring out at the ocean, an awed expression on his face. Boone turned and looked at well, both of them arriving at the same conclusion.

"Oh my God," Scarlett whispered. "How…?"

"I think we need to get Jack," Locke said in a low voice. Randy took off for the caves without being told twice.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Scarlett sat in the sand and watched as Locke, Boone, and Sayid carried a tarp holding Scott's body inside. When Jack had got to the beach, he had informed them that Scott's neck had been broken, as Scarlett had suspected, and both of his arms, as well as the bones in all of his fingers. Scarlett had left before she heard any more of Scott's injuries, finding a bush to vomit in while Boone held her hair away from her face and rubbed her back tenderly.

Afterward, she had gone to sit near Kate's shelter, though the other woman wasn't in it at the moment, feeling like there was some form of protection there. Then she had watched as the crowd of people tried to decide what to do with Scott's body. It had been like some sick television show that she just couldn't tear her eyes away from, though she was disgusted, watching it. Only this was reality, and that made it all the scarier.

She closed her eyes tight as the procession walked past her, drawing in a deep breath. Images kept flashing through her mind; images of Scott lying face down on the beach, his neck twisted; of Ethan slowly breaking each bone, covering his mouth so he couldn't scream out in agony as they snapped and cracked and made stomach-churning noises that made her want to throw up again.

They carried the tarp further down the beach, out to where Jack was waiting with a makeshift shovel in hand. Scarlett turned away, feeling sick again. She chose instead to look out at the water, trying to find some inner peace within the tranquil movement of the waves. She felt someone sit down beside her, and turned around to look at Sawyer, who was looking at her sympathetically.

"Hey," he said slowly, appearing uncomfortable.

"Hey," she replied, looking down at the sand, for some reason feeling afraid to meet his gaze.

"I heard that you…found him," Sawyer said sadly. Scarlett nodded wordlessly, and Sawyer sighed heavily, looking out at the water. "You hear that a couple of people thought I did it?"

Scarlett looked at Sawyer with surprise, eyes widening.

"What?" she asked incredulously, as if she hadn't been thinking the same thing earlier. Sawyer nodded, throwing a small pebble into the sand in front of him.

"Good ol' Steve brought up that fight we had…you know, over the letter."

"Right," Scarlett said, sighing heavily.

"He was sayin' how I said I was gonna kill Scottty…thinks I decided to do him in so no one would know it was me."

"Ethan said he was going to kill someone last night," Scarlett said bitterly. "And he did. It had nothing to do with you. Steve should know that."

"Yeah, well, Steve just doesn't want to see the truth, in my opinion," Sawyer remarked. "That there's somethin' out there that he just can't handle."

Scarlett nodded, sighing sadly.

"I think a lot of us want to avoid that truth," she remarked, glancing at him with a mournful look in her eyes.

"Yeah, well…least you ain't denying it."

Scarlett nodded slowly, and she and Sawyer both returned their gazes to the ocean, both silent and watchful. She wasn't sure what they were waiting for. It could have been rescue, or maybe they were waiting for Ethan to walk out of the water. At the moment, anything was possible. Except rescue felt further from reality than it ever had.

* * *

A few hours later, all the survivors gathered around Scott's grave, which had a small wooden cross made from twigs as a marker. Scarlett stood to the side with Boone, her arms around his waist and her head resting against his chest as she watched Hurley read from the notes in his hands.

"Scott Jackson worked for an internet company in Santa Cruz," he started out, looking uncomfortable. "He won a sales prize…two week Australian vacation, all expenses paid. He was a good guy." He looked away from his notes and down to the grave sadly. "Sorry I kept calling you Steve, man." He looked around at everyone awkwardly. "Um…Amen, I guess."

"Amen," Scarlett murmured with the rest.

"I don't know how to end these," Hurley admitted. Everyone stood there for a few more moments, and then slowly started to drift away, back to their normal tasks. Scarlett noticed that Claire wasn't present. She wondered if anyone had told her.

Rose walked up to her as she was standing there with Boone, and the older woman smiled at her sadly.

"So many good people have died," she said sadly. "It seems that everything good that happens to us on this island has to be shadowed by something bad."

Scarlett nodded sadly.

"It does," she agreed in a small voice.

"But don't worry," Rose continued in an almost cheerful tone. "The good will always outweigh the bad, even out here."

She patted Scarlett on the shoulder comfortably and walked away. Boone looked after her, then turned back to Scarlett and kissed her on the forehead comfortingly.

"She's right, you know," he said, pushing the hair out of her face as she stared at Scott's grave. "Look at all the good that's happened so far. Look at us."

Scarlett looked up at Boone and smiled at him sadly, wrapping her arms around him tighter.

"I know," she said. "It just sometimes feels like we're going to be here forever…and that's a scary thought."

"We won't be here forever," Boone argued. "We're getting home. Don't worry about it, Scarlett. We're getting home."

Scarlett smiled at him and leaned against him, not saying anything. Because though she saw some truth in his words, she saw them in a different way. Getting home for them was going to have to mean getting accustomed to the fact that this was their home now.

"Let's go back to the caves," she said slowly, walking over to the grass that grew nearby and picked up a small, single white flower. She moved over to Scott's grave and stuck it in the sand, tilting her head to one side and examining it. It was a sorry excuse for a flower, but she decided that she would come back with more flowers later to make it look better. After all, Scott deserved to have much more than just a tiny flower to remember him by.

She turned back to Boone to see him smiling at her sadly. When he saw her examining him, he reached out his hand, and she took it, and the two of them started back along the path to the caves.

* * *

Scarlett and Boone reached the caves a while later with Jack and Charlie and a few other people, including Randy and Stephanie. They were just filing into the caves when Claire stormed up to Charlie, looking incredibly pissed off.

"Why?" she asked, glaring at him, enraged. "Why did you lie to me?"

Charlie started nervously and held out his hands.

"Okay, look…" he started, but Claire wasn't going to let him finish.

"Yeah, what else didn't you tell me?" she asked bitingly.

"I…I just thought with your memory, there wasn't anything you could do," Charlie said nervously, looking hurt. Scarlett felt a stab of pity; he _had _been trying to protect her.

"Nothing I could do," Claire said flatly. "Why would you keep me in the dark, Charlie? I'm already in the dark."

Charlie looked down at the ground, looking afraid and sad, and so much like a little child that it took all of Scarlett's willpower to not walk up to him and hug him.

"Sorry," he said in a quiet voice. "I just wanted to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself," Claire retorted, turning and walking away with a toss of her hair and a disgusted glare.

Charlie watched her go with sadness in his gaze, and then he turned and walked back towards the caves, running a hand through his hair. Scarlett and Boone watched them go, gazing at each other sadly.

"Poor guy," Scarlett said. "He was just trying to help."

"Yeah," Boone said with a small sigh. "I think the old Claire might have gone for it."

Scarlett nodded; she knew exactly what he was talking about. Claire was definitely different; she was the same Claire that she had been _before_ the crash, and all the little changes that had been made to her personality over the course of her days on the island were gone. It wasn't that she was bad in any way; no, she was still the same person. She was just less responsive to some things, less open and understanding. She had to go through the whole adapting process all over again.

"I'm sure they'll work it out," Scarlett said with more confidence than she felt. Boone nodded, sniffling slightly as if he had a cold. She grinned; he looked so adorable when he did that. "Now where's John? I've been meaning to talk to him."

"About what?" Boone asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"About what he said to me yesterday," Scarlett answered. "How he said that I could find out why that person was following me by talking to Jack."

"Oh, right," Boone said, frowning. "I forgot about that. I asked him about it on the way back, but you know him. He just smiled and said I asked too many questions."

"He probably hit his head during the crash or something," Scarlett muttered moodily. Boone laughed and shook his head as they walked over to where Locke was talking with Jack. When they saw the young couple coming, they made a hasty exit, walking out of the caves as if Ethan himself were after them.

"What the hell was that all about?" Boone asked, making a face. Scarlett nodded wordlessly, frowning in the direction that they had gone. What _was _that all about? Something very suspicious was going on, and she didn't like it one bit.

When Scarlett was younger, she had always been the kind of person who liked to find things out for herself. She was always told that she should be a private eye or something, because of her relentless and oftentimes successful pursuit of the facts. As she grew older, that desire for knowledge lessened a little, but now she felt it burning familiarly in the pit of her stomach. She was going to find out what was going on.

She excused herself from Boone absently and stalked off after Jack and Locke. She was aware that it was probably nothing to be worried about, but still she wanted to know. She didn't like being left out of the loop, and leaving people out of the loop seemed to be one of Jack's favorite things to do. But not this time. She grinned to herself as she left the caves. Oh no, not this time.

* * *

Boone watched Scarlett go with a small smile on his face. He knew what she was doing, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop her if he wanted to. Not that he did want to; he wanted to now what was going on too, though probably not as bad as she did. He knew that she was tired of Jack treating her like an afterthought, and to be honest, so was he. Usually he didn't mind when other people didn't see him as important; no, he'd suffered through a lifetime of _that _torture with Shannon. But now it was getting to be a bit much. If Scarlett happened to open Jack's eyes to help him see that they were people too, well then he was going to let her.

He put his water bottle down in front of the waterfall and dipped his hands into it, wiping off his face luxuriously.

"Hey, stranger."

Boone looked up as Shannon approached, smiling timidly at him.

"Yeah?" he said slowly, knowing that she probably wanted something, if she was talking to him again.

"I just…I figured I'd come talk to you," she said slowly. "Because…you know, we haven't in a while."

"And that bothers you because…?" Boone started, arching an eyebrow.

"Because there's no one else to talk to," Shannon said bitterly. Boone smirked.

"Just admit it, Shan. You miss me."

Shannon glowered at him. He knew that she wasn't going to admit he was right; she'd rather die than do that. But it was fun to see her get so annoyed about it.

"It's just that we haven't spoken in, like, forever," she said, purposely avoiding the question. "It's sad."

"Right, and before, when _you _were ignoring _me_, it didn't matter what I thought. So why should it matter now, Shan?"

"I want to try to start over," Shannon said, not letting Boone's sarcasm bother her. "I want to try to stop being such a bitch. I mean…I know I've been a bitch." Boone muttered some agreement under his breath. "You don't have to be such an asshole about this, Boone! This isn't easy for me!" She sighed and drew in a deep breath. "Since my father died…I know I've been different. And I want to change that because being out here has made me see things a lot differently." She looked at him pleadingly, and he sighed.

"You know, this is what you said to me when I came to rescue you from Paris," he said doubtfully. "I want to believe you, Shan. I really do. But it's just…I can't trust you again like that. Not after Sydney."

"I know," Shannon said sadly. Hearing that much raw emotion in her voice was a new experience for Boone, but blessedly he didn't feel anything for her. Not this time. Maybe Locke had done his job, after all. "I just…I want to try, and I want to know that you don't hate me."

Boone's heart finally melted, and he sighed, staring at her with a defeated expression.

"I don't hate you, Shan," he said, as if it was killing him to admit it. Shannon nodded slowly, looking him in the eye as if she could read what he was thinking.

"Okay," she said, sounding relieved. "Thank you, Boone."

She turned and walked away without another word, running a hand through her hair. Boone wasn't sure if he should feel used or not, but decided that it was too much energy to actually care about it, so he took a seat on the rocks near the waterfall and pulled out a book, starting to read it as he waited for Scarlett.


	54. Homecoming Part 4

Sorry about the delay! I was home alone with my younger siblings all weekend, so it's been a crazy time. Hehehe. And I soo did _not _have guys in the house. Nope. Not at allll. :D

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! And pleaseee review again! You guys are awesome.

**JimmyP:** haha, I'm glad you managed to pull yourself away. I'm not sure if I'd have been able to! Hahaha. I can't say anything about the Boone blame, but you never know O:) Frank comes up a lot more in flashbacks in the next episode. He was mentioned at the very, very beginning of the story, when Scarlett was reflecting on how her friends in Australia would think that she forgot to write or something. So yeah, at the moment we can love him :D hahaha. Hmmm…about the Claire episodes, I really don't know. They should definitely have one though, and I'm sure they will. That is weird that they've completely abandoned her story. I definitely want to find out what happened! Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Homecoming (4):** Confrontation.

Scarlett walked through the trees, completely silent as she crept along, following the subtle trail that Jack and Locke had left. She chuckled to herself slightly; hours of walking through the woods with Locke, combined with utter boredom sitting with Kate at camp, had certainly paid off. She was a fairly good tracker, though she certainly wasn't as good as either of her two teachers. Still, she could follow the tracks that Jack left, and she knew that the broken twigs on the ground meant that she was heading in the right direction.

She heard them talking up ahead, so she walked a little faster, finally not caring if she made all the noise in the world. She was going to _flip_ on Jack. Or at least give him a stern talking to about how the world was made up of more than just one person. In fact, there were many more.

She emerged from the trees into a tiny clearing, where Jack was just opening a metal case with that key that he always wore around his neck like he was come kind of tough guy. Scarlett personally thought it looked extremely stupid.

But all thoughts of gay necklaces were gone from her mind as she saw what was in the case. Guns. Four of them. She almost forgot why she was there in her shock. Where had he gotten four guns?

"Why doctor," said Locke, sounding slightly surprised. "You've been holding out on us."

Jack picked up a gun and stood up, turning to face Locke. Neither of them had noticed Scarlett staring at them.

"I'm guessing you know how to handle one of these," he said, holding the gun out to Locke. Locke took it and experimented with it a little; he clearly _did _know how to use a gun. Jack watched emotionlessly as Locke leaned it against his shoulder and smiled. Scarlett stepped out of the trees at that moment.

"Oh, hey guys," she said, as if she had just stumbled across them on a walk through the woods. "I was looking for…"

She broke off as if she suddenly spotted the open case of guns, and she stared at them in shock.

"Scarlet…" Jack said slowly, as if she was some sort of dangerous criminal.

"What the hell is that?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. Jack sighed heavily, glancing at Locke as if it were all the poor man's fault. "Are those guns?"

"Yes," Jack said with a sigh.

"Don't talk to me like that," Scarlett bitched, playing this out to its full effect. "I'm not twelve years old, Jack! How come no one else knew about these guns?"

"Scarlett, I need you to not tell anyone about this," Jack said slowly, still talking to her like she couldn't comprehend it if he talked any faster.

"Why? How about you tell me something, Jack. How come no one else knows?"

"We don't want people to try to get a hold of them," Jack said carefully.

"_We_?" Scarlett asked. "Who's the other person in this equation, Jack, because I honestly can't see anyone but you deciding to hide this case in the middle of the jungle where those Others could get a piece of it."

She faced Jack with her jaw squared and ready to fire back angry words at whatever might come out of his mouth.

"Well Kate knows," Jack said after a long pause in which he stood there and made faces that Scarlett supposed were attempts at thinking better.

"Oh, I'm sure Kate _knows_," Scarlett said with a heavy roll of her eyes. "But does she completely agree? Because I'd be inclined to think otherwise."

"Look, Scarlett, I don't think it really matters," Jack retorted in a haughty tone. "What matters is that we don't want anyone to find out about these guns."

"What are we running here, Jack?" Scarlett asked. "A democracy, or a monarchy. Because it seems to be leaning a little closer to the second one with this behind closed doors bullshit."

Locke was staring at the two of them, his head traveling towards whichever one was speaking, like he was watching tennis. The whole while he had an amused smile on his face.

"There's some stuff that you have to keep from the majority in order to keep things under control," Jack attempted to explain rationally, but Scarlett wasn't buying any of it.

"How long have we been out here, Jack?" she asked bitterly. "How long, and you've been 'in charge' for what now? The whole time? If you haven't gotten by now that you can't control _anything _on this island, then I think you need to have your head examined. What happened to all that 'if we don't learn to live together, we're gonna die alone' speech?"

"There are some exceptions to that," Jack said lamely.

"Look, Jack," Scarlett said with mock sadness. "I realize that keeping people in the dark must be a fun activity and all, but really you need to start realizing that you're no more qualified than Locke here to make the decisions. Are you good at making decisions? Yes, normally. Is this one of those good decisions? No, definitely not. Basically, what I'm trying to say is how about you let people in on your little secrets more. And not just Locke or Sayid or Kate. I mean like…everyone."

She knew Jack wasn't going to go for it, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She had said what she wanted to say, and she felt a hell of a lot better about herself. With a small smug grin on her face, she turned and walked back towards camp before Jack could even think to open his mouth.

* * *

_Scarlett yawned and stretched, ignoring the phone that was ringing incessantly in the other room. _

_"Kevin, you gonna get that?" she asked tiredly. No one answered. She sighed tiredly and rolled out of bed, shuffling across the room to the phone and picking it up limply._

_"Hello?" she mumbled into it groggily._

_"Hey! Scarlett! Thought I'd catch you there."_

_"Hey, Frank!" Scarlett said with a small smile. "What's up?"_

_"I was just wondering if you and your boy there wanted to come up for a drink or two tonight. Me and Anne would _love _to have you."_

_"Oh! That sounds like a good idea. Kevin's not here. I just woke up." Scarlett laughed. "Can I call you back later after I find out what he wants to do?"_

_"Sure thing. No hurries, love. I'll see you tonight hopefully."_

_"Yeah, hopefully," Scarlett agreed, smiling again. _

_"Later babe, love you."_

_"Love you too," Scarlett repeated, and she hung up the phone and hurried back into bed.

* * *

_

Scarlett returned to the caves a bit later to see Boone sitting down by himself and reading.

"Hey," Scarlett said to him cheerily. He glanced up and smiled back.

"Hey," he replied. "How'd it go?"

"Don't think he's gonna start telling me stuff more, but I definitely had fun," Scarlett replied with a grin. "I just walked over there and pretended that I was looking for someone. Then I kind of flipped out when I saw what was in the case. Oh! And guess what was in the case?"

Boone chuckled slightly at her angry enthusiasm.

"Umm…was it food or something?" he asked.

"No," Scarlett said with a confidential tone, as if she were telling a deadly secret. Which, she supposed, she was. "_Guns_."

"What?" Boone asked loudly.

"Shh!" Scarlett hushed. "We're not supposed to tell anyone."

Boone gave her an incredulous look.

"Are you serious?" he asked, though he did lower his voice considerably.

"Well as much as it pisses me off, Jack _is _the leader of this shithole, and I don't think pissing him off to the extent where he might actually do something about it is the way I want to go. Besides, if I keep quiet, maybe he'll start listening to me more. Maybe he'll actually start telling people the stuff they need to know."

"And maybe he'll keep acting like we're all children," Boone said in a falsely enthused voice. Scarlett grinned.

"And maybe he'll do that," she agreed. "But still…I'm gonna try. I always thought politician was an ideal job for me."

Boone laughed and shook his head.

"You have no idea," he chuckled. Scarlett shot him a glare.

"If that was supposed to be mean, fuck you," she said, though there wasn't any feeling in it at all. Boone grinned at her sweetly, and she laughed before sitting down beside him and stretching her legs out. She sighed, bored already, wondering what they were going to do about Ethan. Personally, she thought she should take those guns and use them to protect the camp, though she could see some bad things happening with that.

She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that they could just go back to that point in time right before Claire got kidnapped; when Ethan was just the friendly guy who went hunting with Locke, and there was no such thing as an Other. She wished that they could stay in that time forever, because that was when everyone was happiest. Sure, she had some things that she hadn't had in that time, like Boone, but she would be willing to give that up just so that no one had to live in fear. Because they were obviously living in fear now.

Suddenly, Jack and Locke emerged from the woods, carrying the silver metal case. When Jack spotted Scarlett, he headed over. She pretended to be pissed off, and she looked down at the ground, kicking at the dirt boredly.

"Scarlett," Jack said to get her attention. She looked up, feigning surprise when she saw him.

"Yeah?" she asked politely.

"I need to talk to you," Jack said seriously. Scarlett glanced at Boone, who smirked at her, and she got to her feet. Jack carried the case over to where he normally slept, putting it down on his blanket.

"What's this about?" Scarlett asked bitterly, as if she had been betrayed.

"I wanted to apologize," Jack said, and this time, Scarlett didn't even have to pretend to be surprised. "I realize that things around here haven't exactly been democratic. I wanted you to know that it's nothing against you that I don't tell you these things. I just try to keep things quiet so people don't panic. Because you know what happens when people panic."

He looked at her pointedly, and she nodded slowly. She remembered Sawyer saying something a long while back about people being more inclined to break the rules when they had no hope.

"I realize that, Jack. I was just pissed that no one seemed to know about the guns. I thought it was supposed to be a stand together, die alone type of thing, you know?" she shook her head with a sigh. "I didn't mean to flip out back there. I've just been really…emotional lately, you know, with everything going on."

"Yeah," Jack said quickly. "Oh, I completely understand. I thought that was at least part of it. So I wanted to say sorry for that, and to tell you that I think your idea about having a group of people to tell stuff to is a great idea. Kind of like a council."

"Or a cabinet," Locke put in. Jack nodded.

"Yeah," he said. Scarlett smiled.

"That's good," she said. "I think it would be more like a democracy that way. More opinions, more ideas, you know?"

"Yeah," Jack said with a smile. "And you're going to be one of those opinions."

Scarlett grinned. That was one of the things that she had wanted all along; some way to get her opinions to Jack.

"Great," she said. "Who else are you planning on putting in this little council of yours?"

"Well, Locke and Sayid, obviously," Jack said. "Eddie, Kate, Boone, Michael, and I'm probably thinking Rose, too."

"Ooo, Rose would be good," Scarlett agreed. "And I think that sounds like a good mix of opinions there. I think it's a great idea."

"Good," Jack said with a small sigh of relief, as if he had been worried that she wasn't going to accept that. In truth, he should have been worried, because Scarlett wasn't really accepting of many things he did, but he didn't need to know that.

"So I'm assuming this is our first session," Scarlett said. Jack nodded.

"Just the three of us for the moment," he said. "We need to fill you in on what we're planning on doing. I know you probably won't like it…but I assure you that it's the best way."

Scarlett nodded nervously. She didn't like Jack's tone. It suggested bad things.

"Okay, what's the plan?" she asked. Jack and Locke exchanged a glance.

"We want to use Claire as bait to catch Ethan," Jack said slowly. "With the guns."

He was right; Scarlett didn't like it. But she also saw that it was a good idea. It was a hard decision to make. She bit her lip and frowned, looking down at the ground studiously.

"I think it's a good idea," she said. "But we should probably talk to Charlie and Claire first, about it. See if they have any objections and things like that. And we should probably put together a team, you know, with people who know how to use guns."

"Do you know how to use a gun?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "But I think I'm going to sit this bit of action packed fun out, okay? I don't know how to use a gun _that _well.

"Yeah, that's fine," Jack said, shrugging. "I'm sure we can find someone else."

"There's probably plenty of people you can find," Scarlett said. Jack nodded.

"All right," he said slowly. "John knows how to use a gun. He can be on the team. I'll go get Sayid. I know he can use a gun too…Scarlett, why don't you get Charlie and Claire and bring them over here."

"Got it," Scarlett said, walking towards where she had last seen Charlie. He wasn't there, so she went looking for Claire instead. The pregnant girl was taking a nap under the shade of some ferns, Scarlett's present open on her belly. Scarlett smiled and walked around the caves, deciding that she would let Claire sleep for the moment, and just bring Charlie back. Then, she spotted Charlie sitting on the ground and staring at nothing, looking much like he had the night that Claire was taken.

"Hey," she said, startling him out of his daydream. He turned to face her with surprise.

"Hey," he replied. "Sorry, I was just…thinking."

"That's all right," Scarlett said with a small smile. "I do it a lot too. No need to apologize."

"Right," Charlie said, sounding very unhappy. Scarlett frowned slightly but decided not to press it. She figured he was just upset about how Claire had yelled at him earlier.

"Jack and Sayid and Locke want to talk to you," she said.

"About what?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Claire," Scarlett said simply. Charlie was up in a flash and moving over towards where Jack and Sayid were just returning to where Locke was waiting.

"I was lucky; I caught up just as he was coming up to the caves," Jack said with a smile. Scarlett smiled back patiently.

"That's good," she said. "Have you told him anything yet?"

"No," Jack replied. "Where's Claire?"

"She was napping," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I thought I'd let her sleep for now. We can talk to Charlie about it and see what he thinks, then we can formulate a solid plan and wake her up then."

"Okay," Jack said, nodding. He glanced at Locke. "Sound good?"

"God knows the girl needs her sleep," Locke replied in typical Locke fashion. No one said anything to contradict him, and they all turned towards Charlie.

"Okay," Jack said slowly, as if not sure where to start. "I know you're probably not going to…no, you're definitely not going to like this idea, but I want you to listen to it all the way through and just hear us out, okay?"

"All right," Charlie said warily, not liking what he was hearing already.

"We need to catch Ethan," Jack said. "And we need to catch him tonight, before anyone else dies. Because, honestly, it could be anyone but you or Claire, since he's planning on killing you last. It could be me, it could be Kate, it could be anyone. It's a risk that we're not willing to take this time. We let him get the better of us last time, and we ended up losing one of our own."

"What are you getting at, here, Jack?" Charlie asked, sounding worried already. Jack sighed and glanced at Locke, who nodded slowly. Jack let out a breath that he had apparently been holding in.

"We want Claire to be the bait so we can catch Ethan. We have guns, we have protection, and we're not going to let him even touch her." Charlie stared at him, enraged.

"Are you insane?" he asked, glancing at everyone in turn.

"It's the best chance we have, Charlie," Jack continued in that calm, doctorly tone.

"No bloody way," Charlie interjected, shaking his head. Sayid decided it was time to speak.

"If we want to capture Ethan, we have to ensnare him, and the only way to do that is by giving him what he wants."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Charlie exclaimed angrily. "This guy…he will _kill_ all of you. You can't protect yourself."

Suddenly, there was a movement behind the ground.

"Charlie…" a soft voice in an Australian accent intoned. "I can talk for myself."

Charlie turned around, looking slightly desperate/insane.

"Claire, they want to use you as bait!" he said in a tone that was almost pleading. Claire looked down at the ground for a while.

"I don't remember Ethan," she said after a while. "I don't remember what he did to me. But if I can help stop him from hurting someone else…I have to do that."

Charlie closed his eyes briefly, and Scarlett could see the flicker of pain cross his features. He turned towards Jack.

"I'm coming with you," he said with determination. "You said there were four guns."

"Have you ever fired a weapon, Charlie?" Locke asked casually. Charlie looked dejected, but didn't say anything. Everyone glanced at each other. Scarlett, personally, wouldn't mind Charlie tagging along, just to make him feel a little better about he situation, but she knew that the others weren't going to go for it.

"All right," Jack said. "We should do this." He started walking towards the waterfall. "Let's figure out a game plan. All right, Sayid, soldier. Locke, you're the hunter."

Locke turned and followed Jack, and Sayid was soon after him. Scarlett tossed a sad glance over her shoulder at Charlie, but then followed after the three men. Claire stood around awkwardly for a moment, then followed after Scarlett slowly.

"What about positions?" Locke asked. "We probably want to know where to stand, where to hide."

"I'll take a tree," Sayid said, looking thrilled at the prospect. "I'm quite good at camouflaging myself in the branches."

"That could definitely come in handy," Jack said, looking almost excited. "Locke?"

"Wherever you need me, captain," he said with a small smile. Jack turned to Scarlett.

"I'll man the fort," she said with a grin. He chuckled.

"Sounds good," he said.

"Charlie's right," Locke said suddenly. Everyone looked at him.

"About what?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We have four guns," Locke replied. "We should have four men."

Locke glanced at Jack. Jack glanced at Sayid. Sayid glanced at Scarlett. Then they all looked down at the ground. All of them were thinking the same thing, and three out of four of them were dreading asking the man they had in mind.

* * *

Scarlett found herself walking down the path to the beach with Jack, who was less than excited about their objective for the afternoon.

"I'm sure there's _someone _else who knows how to use a gun," he said casually, as if he hadn't been trying for the past ten minutes to hint at finding someone else.

"But I'm sure no one could have hit that polar bear," Scarlett replied. "They all would have turned and ran. Sawyer didn't; he stood his ground and did what he felt he needed to do. I think that's a really good quality to have on this kind of mission, don't you think? The whole, you know, bravery thing."

Jack fell silent, though it was a decidedly moody silent, and continued walking. Scarlett could tell that he was going over all the ways that Sawyer could possibly screw the whole thing up. She herself didn't think that Sawyer was all that bad of a choice, but she knew that Jack wasn't as inclined to trust the southern man as she was. She also knew that the southern man wasn't all that inclined to trust Jack, either.

They had just arrived at the beach when Kate walked over.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked Scarlett with a smile. Scarlett nodded and walked a few feet away with her. Jack kept walking towards Sawyer's tent, trying to pretend he hadn't noticed Kate. It was a very sad attempt.

"What's up?" Scarlett asked.

"What's going on with Jack?" she asked. Scarlett tilted her head to one side in question, then realized that Jack had the gun hanging out of his backpack. She sighed and shook her head.

"Sometimes I really wonder about him," she muttered darkly, turning back to Kate. "I'm _probably_ not supposed to tell you this, but I don't really give a shit because someone's probably going to tell you eventually. Jack has this plan; he wants to give the guns from that case to Sayid, Locke, Sawyer, and himself to go into the woods and use Claire as bait to catch Ethan."

"Sawyer?" Kate asked incredulously. Scarlett chuckled slightly. Out of everything in the sentence that could be shocking (and certainly there were parts of it that were quite interesting) Kate was most surprised by the fact that Jack was going to ask Sawyer for help. Scarlett had to admit, she nearly had a heart attack when Jack agreed to it.

"Yeah," she said. "He's heading over there right now."

"Oh, I definitely want some of that," Kate said with a smirk. They started walking over to where Sawyer and Jack were conversing. Scarlett followed her, grinning.

"Well, I know at least one polar beat who seems to think so," Sawyer said to Jack as they were walking up. Jack held out a gun to Sawyer, who took it and checked it. Kate watched on with an interested gaze. "Where'd you get the hardware, Hoss?" he asked casually. Jack didn't answer, but just picked up his backpack.

"I want to come," Kate said quickly. Jack paused for a long moment.

"Sorry, we're out of guns," he said at last. "And no one goes out there unarmed." He shrugged and turned to walk away, but Sawyer stopped him as he saw the disappointed expression on Kate's face.

"How much ammo you got?" he asked casually. Jack turned around and walked back.

"A hundred rounds, give or take," he said, as if he actually had any idea what he was talking about.

"All nines, right?" Sawyer asked. Jack gave him a blank look. "Nine millimeters? The guns?"

Jack nodded, looking annoyed that Sawyer was speaking to him in such a degrading tone. As if he _didn't_ use that tone every time he spoke to…anyone.

"Yeah," he said bitterly. "Why?"

"Cus if the lady wants to come…" Sawyer began, reaching into the tent after carefully relocating the gun that Jack had just given him to the back pocket of his jeans. After a few seconds to rummaging, he pulled out a gun and held it up, arching his eyebrow. "Lifted this off the Marshal, back in the old days." Scarlett saw Jack glance at Kate, who was looking down at the ground as if she was seeing something really interesting. "You remember him, don't you? Surly guy, kind of square jaw? Carried a sig-nine?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "I remember you shot him…and missed."

Sawyer smirked slightly.

"Yeah, well…bygones," he said. "And, hell, five guns are better than four."

He held the gun out to Kate with a smirk in her direction. Kate took it and tucked it into the back of her jeans, watching Jack as she did it. Jack glanced at Sawyer and after a long pause, he nodded. Then he turned and walked away.

"Thank you," Kate said to Sawyer sincerely.

"No problem, Freckles. I think you could do a much better job at shootin' up the bad guys than Jackass there. Just my humble opinion."

"I second that," Scarlett muttered, and the three of them laughed nervously, finding that there really wasn't much humor in the situation.

* * *

A short time later, Scarlett stood with the little group, doing her job and checking and double checking, reassuring Claire that everything was going to be okay, and making sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to do.

"You will be surrounded at five points," Sayid explained to the group. "Everyone will be in visual contact with you. Make sure you stay in the area I've shown you. And remember…guns are a measure of the last resort. We want him alive."

Everyone looked pointedly at Sawyer.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Okay," Jack said. "Everyone got that?"

There was a chorus of affirmatives, and Jack nodded approvingly.

"Let's go," Locke said. Jack nodded again, and they turned and walked into the trees. Scarlett walked them as far as the treeline, then gave Claire, Kate, and Sawyer a hug, watching them until they were completely out of sight in the thick foliage.

She was about to turn around and go back to the path to the caves when she saw Charlie standing against a tree, glaring at her.

"Hi…Charlie," she said nervously.

"Hey," Charlie muttered. He ran a hand over his face and sighed heavily.

"Don't worry about Claire," Scarlett said gently. "She's going to be all right."

By this point, they were right up next to each other. Charlie sighed again.

"You say that, but there are plenty of things that could go wrong. They're going to try to catch him…alive. That's the worst bloody idea I've ever heard. They don't know what he can do!"

"No one knows what he can do, but every man can be stopped by a bullet, or three," Scarlett said reassuringly. Charlie glanced back over at the trees again, as if he could see what was going on within them.

"After all the weird stuff on this island…I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't be," he muttered darkly. Scarlett smiled sadly.

"He can be," she said. "He's only human, after all."

"What about the whole walking out of the water thing?" Charlie asked bitterly. "He'd he manage that?"

Scarlett sighed. Charlie was getting very paranoid. She made a mental note to herself to talk to Jack about it later.

"People can swim, Charlie," she said. "Maybe he swam along the coast so he wouldn't have to go through our barriers."

"But why would he?" Charlie asked. "He could have snapped any of those watchmen like a twig. He didn't have to kill Scott; Scott wasn't even doing anything."

"Maybe he didn't want to risk it," Scarlett said rationally. She felt like Jack. "Maybe he just wanted to make sure that no one would hear him at all."

Thunder rumbled overhead, and a few drops of rain began to fall, then it began to downpour.

"What the bloody hell!" Charlie yelled. "Why does it always rain on this bloody island when something bad is happening! That's it. I'm going after them."

"Charlie!" Scarlett exclaimed, trying to grab his arm, but he just pulled away from her. "Dammit," she swore. She turned to see who else was in her general vicinity. She spotted Shannon and sighed with relief. "Shannon!" she yelled. Shannon looked up from her frantic grabbing of her towel and spotted Scarlett.

"Yeah?" Shannon asked.

"Go to the caves and tell Boone that I'm going after Charlie!" Scarlett shouted, figuring that it was better to phrase it as an order and not as a question. Without waiting to hear Shannon's reply, she turned and ran into the woods where she had seen Charlie disappear.

"Charlie!" she yelled. He was ahead of her a little ways, but he heard her and turned around. "Charlie, think about what you're doing. You're not armed, you're not trained in any way…you've already been beaten by him once! Just…leave it up to the people who know what they're doing."

She thought that maybe that sounded a little too harsh, but this wasn't the time for guarding bruised egos.

"I can't just sit here while she's out there," Charlie protested, continuing on his way. Scarlett followed reluctantly. "I can't just sit and wait for her to be okay…I need her to be okay. I have to do something about that."

"I know," Scarlett said softly. "But, as much as I can't stand the man sometimes, Jack's a good guy and he knows what he's doing. She's better off in his hands than in anyone else's. He's not going to let anything happen to her."

"I don't care," Charlie growled, whirling around to face her. "I don't think you bloody understand, Scarlett! If that was Boone out there, you'd be doing the same bloody thing, all right?"

There was a long silence, and Scarlett stared at him, the rain dropping down her face and looking remarkably like tears.

"I know," she said. "But if you were in my position, you'd be trying to stop me, too."

"And you wouldn't let me," Charlie retorted. Scarlett sighed and ran a hand over the top of her wet head.

"Charlie," she said pleadingly. "I know I'd be doing the same thing, and I know I wouldn't want to listen to anything that anyone had to say, but don't be like me. Trust me, it doesn't get you many places."

"Yeah, well neither does trying to stop me. So just go back, Scarlett. I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you out here, Charlie," Scarlett said stubbornly, crossing her arms across her chest. "You can't make me leave."

Charlie ignored her and kept walking. She followed him.

"I really wish you'd go back," he said, not turning to look at her.

"And I really wish you'd come back with me," Scarlett replied, bending down quickly to pick up a rather large stick off the ground, hauling it along behind her, just in case. "But since neither of us is willing to back down, I guess we're just going to have to settle with sticking together."

"Scarlett, I'm not a bloody toddler," Charlie muttered darkly. "I can take a walk in the woods by myself."

"Right, a walk in the woods in the rain on the magical island of death with a psycho loose. I don't think even _Locke _would be up to that if he didn't have a gun with him."

"Or a giant stick," Charlie pointed out. Scarlett actually cracked a smile at that one, though it was a small one.

"Or a giant stick," she agreed. "But still, Charlie. This is really dangerous. We better…"

Suddenly, Claire's haunting scream cut through the air, followed by a few shouts.

"Claire!" Charlie gasped, taking off through the woods. Scarlett tried to follow right behind, but the stick was weighing her down, so she dropped it and dashed forward after Charlie, yelling at him to stop. He was a fast one, though, and soon she lost him in the foliage.

"Shit," she swore, and was about to get scared out of her mind because she was hopelessly lost when she heard Claire scream again. She followed the sound and ran straight, deciding that that was probably the best way to go.

"Over here!" Locke's voice sounded in the near distance of the deceptive forest. "Over here! Jack's got him!"

Scarlett ran faster.

"Claire?" she yelled questioningly, but she chose the wrong moment to yell. Locke yelled right over her.

"Hold your fire!" he shouted. "Don't shoot! We want him alive."

Scarlett was getting closer now. She heard a sharp sound, like someone hitting someone else. There was a long silence. Scarlett froze. She didn't know where to go.

"Hey!" Sayid yelled. "Hold your fire!"

Scarlett was getting closer still. She could hear Sawyer's southern drawl mumbling something, but she couldn't make out the words. Then, she burst into a clearing where Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Locke, Claire, and Kate all stood, surrounding Ethan. Everyone with guns had them trained on the other man, except for Jack, who didn't have his. Scarlett glanced around, and realized that the reason that Jack didn't have a gun was because Charlie was holding it in his hands.

"Charlie!" she screamed, but it was too late. Six shots rang out rapidly, each of them hitting Ethan. Scarlett yelled with horror, flinging herself backwards and landing on her backside ungracefully. Ethan fell to the ground, quite obviously dead. Sayid pointed his weapon at Charlie, and Sawyer did the same; but when they saw who it was that was holding the gun, they stopped and lowered their weapons.

"Charlie!" Jack exclaimed, obviously and understandably annoyed. Charlie slowly lowered his shaking arms as everyone stared at him. He glanced at Claire, and she turned away, her eyes resting on Ethan's body. Charlie looked around at everyone, at their shocked and enraged faces, and he dropped the gun to the ground before turning and storming back into the trees.

"What the hell just happened?" Sawyer asked dramatically.

"Charlie just shot him," Jack replied, sounding exceedingly pissed off. "I can't believe he shot him. Scarlett, where'd he come from?"

"I tried to stop him," Scarlett said defensively. "But he wouldn't stay behind. He said that he wanted Claire to be safe."

"We could have found out where he came from; what he wanted…we could have discovered what exactly is going on on this island!"

It was obvious that Jack was starting to get heated, so Sayid reached out a put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let us bring his body back," the Middle Eastern man said gently. "And we will figure things out then. There may be more of them around."  
Everyone glanced around nervously as they started to walk back into the forest. But if there was anyone else there, they never showed themselves, and the little group made it through the trees without incident.

* * *

Later that night, Scarlett rested against Boone as he leaned against the cave wall, a blanket draped over them.

"So he just…shot him?" Boone asked incredulously. "And he actually hit him?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I don't know…it seems weird. I know Ethan's a bad guy…_was _a bad guy. But I can't help but feel a little…sad."

"I know," Boone said, brushing her hair back from her face and kissing the top of her head gently. "I know what you mean."

Scarlett watched Sun and Jin sleeping by the fire, a small smile on her face. Shannon and Sayid were sitting a few feet away, where Shannon tended to Sayid's wounds. Though, honestly, Scarlett didn't remember him having any wounds. The thought only made her smile more. By the waterfall, Kate and Sawyer were laughing and joking as they filled up their water. And, as the icing on the cake, Charlie and Claire were talking over by the corner of the caves, each with little smiles on their faces. Scarlett, as she snuggled down deeper into Boone's embrace, reflected on Rose's words. Though this was one of the happiest moments they had had on the island, she knew that it was going to change very quickly. This was the calm before the storm, and she just had to remember to be ready for when it hit.


	55. Outlaws Part 1

Ugh, sorry about the long wait. I've been very, very busy lately with Midterm review and tests and various issues I've been having with people and all sorts of fun stuff I don't need to go into any detail about. Basically, I'm sorry! Hahaha. I know I say it every time…and I really am sorry every time. Real life gets in the way…and I hate it!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! Please, please, please review again! It would make me so happy!

**JimmyP:** Haha, yes, you were the only anon reviewer, but this time there's someone else to share the spotlight with! Hahaha yay! I'm glad you liked that necklace line, hahaha. I just write stuff as it comes to me, lol. Sometimes it's on the paper before I even realized it came to me!  
Kevin is a boyfriend of Scarlett's. We haven't actually seen him before, but he was in one of Scarlett's dreams a while back, maybe more than one, and she mentioned him while talking to Sawyer way back in the story I believe, and then briefly while talking to Boone. I think he was also mentioned in the narration when Scarlett was reflecting on the various boyfriend's she'd had in her life. Not sure though, lol.  
You'll see about the boar hunt…in this chapter actually, hahaha.  
The 23rd Psalm was definitely worth the wait, I think. Then again, any Lost is worth the wait, hahaha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**Remus Lupin:** Mmmm I do indeed love Boone. But I can't tell you what's gonna happen. It's a secret! Teehee. Hahaha, I DO know what's going to happen now, though, which is a definite improvement over a few weeks ago, when I had no clue! Hhaaha. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Outlaws (1): **Sick

_"Mom?" _

_Scarlett's voice cut through the darkness of the room in front of her. "Mom, come on, this isn't funny."_

_There was a soft pattering of footsteps somewhere in the darkness. Scarlett froze and turned towards them. That didn't sound like her mother's footsteps; no, they were much lighter. She frowned and made her way down the hallway where she thought the sound was coming from. _

_"Stop!" a voice whispered out of the darkness. "Stop, turn back!"_

_"Mom?" Scarlett asked, pushing open the door to her mother's bedroom. There was a figure lying on the bed on their back. Scarlett reached for the light switch but was suddenly paralyzed by a horrible feeling that there was someone else in the room with her. "Mom?" she asked in a trembling voice, but all she got in reply were whispers.

* * *

_

Scarlett's eyes flew open and she began to breathe heavily, looking from side to side with the air of a person who doesn't know where she is. But after a moment, she realized that she was in Boone's arms, and they were lying together under a tree in the darkness.

"Nightmare?" he murmured into her hair. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly.

"It's all right," Boone replied. "Nothing's going to hurt you while I'm here."

Scarlett smiled and nuzzled down deeper into Boone's embrace.

"Thanks," she said gently. "And nothing's going to happen to you as long as I'm here."

Boone laughed.

"Thanks," he said. "Good to know you got my back."

"Oh, I got your back," Scarlett chuckled, and she closed her eyes once again, breathing in his scent as they fell silent once more. Within mere minutes, she was asleep.

* * *

When Scarlett next awoke, it was light out, and Boone was already gone. She figured he was probably out with Locke, 'hunting', and she wondered dimly why they didn't take her, but didn't honestly care. She just got up, stretched, and walked off to find something to do, since she was already incredibly bored.

She walked over to see if Claire was awake yet, but the other girl was curled up on the ground with her arm curled protectively over her belly, obviously sleeping. Scarlett didn't know how; Hurley was snoring loud enough to awake everyone else within a ten-foot radius. Of course, Claire had been through a lot the night before. She was entitled to a little shuteye.

Scarlett wandered around for a bit more, watching everyone performing their morning routine. Eddie was shaving with a knife, though it didn't seem to be going too well. She walked over to him.

"Hey," she said. "Having fun?"

"Tons," Eddie said sarcastically. "I never thought I'd be so bored that I'd look to _shaving _as a form of entertainment."

Scarlett laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "That's usually a bad sign."

"A sign of absolute boredom, you mean," he said bitterly. "There's nothing to do around here except whine and complain and…shave."

He angrily flicked a bit of soap off his face. Scarlett chuckled.

"Bad mood?" she asked.

"You have no idea," Eddie grumbled in reply. Scarlett smiled sympathetically.

"Why?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know," Eddie replied. "I just woke up this morning and felt like strangling someone."

"Oh, we all have days like that," Scarlett said offhand, grinning. She knew that she certainly did. The last time it happened, she had almost completely forfeited her friendship with Boone. Of course, that had been before she started getting her little crush on him, but it had still been intense.

"Yeah," Eddie said with a sad little sigh. "I guess we all do. I'm gonna go try to play golf to calm myself down. I'll see you later, Scarlett."

"Bye," Scarlett said, giving him a little wave before he put his knife down and walked away, still looking very pissed off. She sighed and turned around, looking for someone to talk to. She spotted Jack heading over to her, and she suppressed the urge to sigh before sticking on a very fake smile.

"Hey," Jack said. "Have you seen Charlie? I've been meaning to talk to him about last night, but I haven't got the chance yet."

"No, I haven't seen him," Scarlett said, frowning. She really hadn't seen the other man on her rounds of the caves to find something exciting to do. "Maybe he went down to the beach for some thinking time."

"That's what I was thinking," Jack agreed. His facial expression changed, and Scarlett knew he was going to ask her a question. "How are you doing? You didn't look too good yesterday."

Scarlett bit back the urge to retort that not many people _would_ look good after they had just seen a man shot six times in front of them. Even if that man _had_ been someone who they had hated and had threatened with death on many occasions.

"I'm fine," she said instead. Jack nodded, clearly not believing a word she said.

"Your stomach bothering you at all?" he asked.

"Not really, why?" Scarlett asked.

"I saw you grabbing it when Claire came back, and again last night."

"Well, I've been having stomach aches," Scarlett revealed. "Cramps…I threw up a couple of times. Yet another wonderful symptom to this amazing cold of mine."

"Right, yeah," Jack said slowly. "You want me to take a look at you?"

"No, that's all right," Scarlett said quickly. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Jack asked. "Because if you really want to…"

"I'm good," Scarlett said with a smile. "It's getting better."

"All right," Jack said with a smile, finally giving in. "But if you ever need to come talk to me about it, feel free to do so."

"Will do," Scarlett lied.

"Oh, and before I forget…what about those dreams you were having? Are they getting any better?"

"Oh, much," Scarlett lied blatantly. "I barely even have them anymore."

"Good," Jack said with a satisfied nod. "All right then. I'll talk to you later, Scarlett. Remember, if you need anything, just ask, all right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, waving slightly as he stood up and walked away.

Scarlett sat down on a log nearby and contented herself with throwing small sticks into the burning-out fire nearby. She hated being awake so early, before anyone else was around. There was never anything to do.

"Stomach cramps, huh?" she heard from behind her. She turned around and saw Kate standing behind her.

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small smile. "I've been getting a lot lately. Probably something I ate."

"Yeah, that's probably it," Kate said reassuringly. "I had a stomach ache a few days ago."

"Maybe it was the boar or something," Scarlett said with a laugh. "Or…the fish. I don't think I've eaten much boar lately."

"Yeah, and most of it's been old and disgusting," Kate said, making a face. "I take it Boone and Locke aren't having much luck? You're not with them."

"Yeah, I honestly don't know why," Scarlett said with a small smile. "They just didn't wake me up this morning."

"Maybe they wanted you to sleep," Kate said reassuringly.

"Maybe," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "I don't know…maybe they just had something planned today and they didn't want me to come. They do that sometimes. They go farther than usual and tell me I should stay behind because it's too dangerous."

She smirked and Kate laughed.

"Men," she said, shaking her head. "They always think us women are going to snap in half if we do anything remotely dangerous."

"I know," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "Personally I don't mind a little bit of danger, myself."

"Me neither," Kate agreed, looking sad. "Well, I'm off to find Sayid. I need to ask him some questions."

"All right," Scarlett said, smiling at her friend. "See you later."

"Bye," Kate said with a smile, and then she turned and walked away. Scarlett wondered why she hadn't revealed herself when Jack was talking to her. Obviously she had been there if she had heard the thing about the stomach cramps.

Shaking her head at the oddness of the other woman, Scarlett got to her feet and decided to take a walk down to the place where Boone had first kissed her. She hadn't been there since that night, and felt the need to lie down in a relaxing hammock and just rest for a while.

* * *

While Scarlett was trekking through the woods, Locke and Boone were going on a trek of their own.

"You know, people are really starting to talk around here," Boone said slowly. "About, you know, the whole boar thing."

He grabbed a branch from Locke, who was holding it back so it wouldn't hit him, and walked through the opening.

"Just keep telling the same story," Locke said indifferently.

"We might want to start bringing back fruit, or something," Boone said, looking up at the trees. Though at camp the trees were almost picked completely clean, here the fruit was practically leaping off the trees.

"We could do that," Locke agreed. "Tomorrow we'll start bringing sacks with us to collect the fruit." He turned around and looked back at Boone. "That was a good idea, Boone."

Boone smiled slightly, feeling slightly proud of himself. He was glad Locke finally thought something that he said was a good idea. Stuff like that didn't happen often.

"Thanks," he muttered happily. Locke nodded and they continued walking.

"So how are things with you and Scarlett?" Locke asked innocently. "You two seem to be getting along just fine."

"We are," Boone said, a faint reddish tint creeping to his cheeks. "She's so sweet…she kind of reminds me of my first real girlfriend, Sarah. She was really nice and stuff…of course, she ended up dumping me for another guy."

Boone laughed wryly, and Locke chuckled.

"Well, look at it this way," he said. "On a deserted island…there aren't that many guys to choose from. I think you're pretty safe."

"But I'm not so sure," Boone said. "I mean, there's Eddie, Sawyer…Randy, even, is pretty attractive I guess…"

"Don't let those other men get to you," Locke said wisely. "Because whenever you're around, Scarlett's eyes are firmly on you. She doesn't care about those other men, Boone. Not like she cares about you. She wants _you_, Boone. And she'll continue to want you if you continue to be yourself. I think she just might love you."

Boone faltered a little bit at hearing that word. He glanced at Locke with surprise.

"You think?" he asked.

"I do," Locke said, and he continued walking before the slow smile could spread over Boone's face. But he knew it would be there. And he knew it would stay there for the rest of the day. That, after all, had been his intention all along.

* * *

Scarlett lay in the hammock with her eyes closed, enjoying the gentle sound of the waves crashing against the shore. It seemed that on this part of the island, nothing could go wrong. It was like the one place where Scarlett could feel completely at peace.

"Wow, Metro really outdid himself, huh, Sox?" came Sawyer's southern drawl from right beside her. Her eyes flew open, and her fist shot out automatically, thankfully missing Sawyer's jaw by a few inches. "Damn, that's one hell of a reflex," Sawyer said with a small laugh, though he looked more relieved than anything else. Scarlett shook her head and sat up.

"How'd you find me here?" she asked with a small smile.

"Followed you," Sawyer said proudly, sticking his hands in his pockets and grinning at her in the way he did when he was up to no good. "Figured if you were wandering off into the woods alone, you were either going to get changed or you were heading off to Metro's little love shack. Either way it wasn't something I'd regret watching, so I tagged along."

"You are _such _a pervert," Scarlett said, shaking her head and grinning slightly.

"So I'm told," Sawyer chuckled. He walked around a little, looking around and nodding appreciatively, whistling.

"This is a nice place he built, here," he said. Scarlett looked around with something like pride.

"Yeah," she said. "It is."

"Damn, the boy must really like you. I mean, I knew he liked you a lot…but he must _really _like you." Sawyer turned to look at her pointedly. "You're a lucky girl, Sox. Remember that."

"I know," Scarlett said, grinning as he continued his self-led tour of the little island paradise. "You should take some pointers if you want Kate."

Sawyer turned and smirked at her sarcastically.

"You hush, Sox," he said. "Mind your own damn business."

Scarlett laughed and settled back against the hammock.

"I'm serious, though," she said.

"Yeah, so am I," Sawyer replied. He shook the hammock slightly, testing its strength. He nodded, satisfied. "I gotta give the kid some credit…he really managed well. Of course, he had the help of that crazy jungle bastard…but still, I'll give him his credit."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it," Scarlett said with a small chuckle.

"I'm sure he would, too," Sawyer said, smiling. "Well, I'm off, Sox. I gotta go take care of something. I'll see you when you get back."

"Bye," Scarlett said, smiling at her friend and waving as he turned and walked into the trees once again. Once he was gone, she smiled and shook her head, resting back against the hammock and closing her eyes. The gentle rocking movement as well as the slight roaring of the waves on the beach, coupled with the fact that her stomach cramps were almost gone, lulled her into a numb, painless sleep at last.

* * *

_Scarlett yawned as she walked through the aisles of the grocery store, glancing at the label of the canned peaches briefly before shoving it into her little handheld basket roughly. _

_"Scarlett! No way!" came a joyous Australian voice from behind her. Scarlett turned around to see Frank standing there with two other men. _

_"Frank!" Scarlett exclaimed, reaching out and giving the other man a hug happily. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Shopping," Frank said with a laugh. "What about you? I thought you were living out at your aunt's farm, not in the city!"_

_"Yeah…" Scarlett said sadly. "My aunt died last month and I decided that I'd head over here. I figured there'd be more jobs for a twenty-one year old American in the city." She laughed, and Frank laughed too, but sadly._

_"I'm sorry about your aunt," he said. He gestured to the men standing behind him. "This is Kevin and Thomas, my mates. We were just heading over to a party at Thomas's place. You wanna tag along?"_

_"No, that's all right," Scarlett said quickly. _

_"My girlfriend would love to have you," Thomas said sweetly, also in an Australian accent. He looked a little like Frank, only less tan. "She's always saying how she wishes we had more girl friends."_

_"I have to work soon," Scarlett said apologetically. "I would if it was any other day…"_

_"Well here, love. Write your number down on this scrap here, and I'll give you a ring sometime. We can get together."_

_"Sure, that would be great," Scarlett said with a smile. Frank smiled back. _

_"Good," he said. "We'll see you later, Scarlett."_

_Scarlett nodded and waved goodbye as they headed off. Before they turned the corner, the one called Kevin whispered something to Frank, which ended up being louder than he meant it to be. _

_"She's beautiful," was what he said. "Where'd you find her? I mean, God, mate. She's gorgeous!"_

_Scarlett smiled to herself, thinking that Kevin wasn't all that bad looking either, and then she turned back to her shopping.

* * *

_

Back at the caves, it was the middle of the day, and Claire wandered over towards Charlie, trying to make it look like she wasn't doing it on purpose. He was bent over a piece of metal. She really wasn't sure what he was doing, but it didn't seem too important.

"Hey," she said gently.

"Hi," he said, without looking up. Claire bit her lip and looked around a few times before she took a seat next to him. There was a long silence as she thought of what to say and he worked on whatever it was he was working on. Fortunately, she didn't have to think of what to say for long; Charlie did the thinking for her.

"How you feeling?" he asked, not looking up from his project.

"Very pregnant," Claire said decisively, which earned a breathy laugh from Charlie. "I…um…had some dreams last night. Actually…more like memories." She glanced at him. "You were in them."

Charlie stopped working on his project for a moment and actually glanced at her.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. Claire grinned.

"Thought I'd see if you wanted to go for a walk," Claire said. Charlie sighed.

"Sorry," he said. "I have to…do something."

Claire nodded quickly, trying not to look too disappointed.

"Sure," she said.

"See you later, okay?" Charlie said, and before Claire could formulate a response, he had picked up his bit of metal and walked off. Claire frowned slightly. He had been acting very odd. She wondered what that was all about. She thought to ask Scarlett if he was always like that; after all she barely knew the man except from writings in her diary, which weren't very specific. Maybe Scarlett could help her figure out what was going on with him.

She sighed and got to her feet shakily, not seeing that Charlie was watching her with regret in his eyes before he turned and walked down the path towards the beach.

* * *

Scarlett walked back to the beach a little while later, looking for Kate. She spotted Sawyer's shelter, almost completely destroyed, and her eyebrows rose. But neither Kate nor Sawyer was in sight.

"A boar did it," came Sayid's voice from behind her. She turned around and grinned at the other man, who was looking over the French woman's maps in a little lean-to type thing. "Last night."

"Really?" she asked. "A boar?"

"Yes," Sayid said with a small chuckle. "At least, that's what Sawyer claims. He says that the boar has something against him."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Sawyer thinks everyone has something against him," she said.

"I think he'll find that many people do," Sayid said, looking at Scarlett pointedly. She smiled slightly and walked over closer to him.

"How's this going?" she asked.

"Not very well," Sayid admitted. "Shannon's French only extends so far, and these formulas are testing my patience."

"If there was anything I could to do help, I would," Scarlett said with a sad smile. "But I'm absolutely dreadful at math, and the only word in French that I know is 'poubelle', and I don't think that will help too much."

Sayid smiled at her.

"That's all right," he said. "Now that Claire's back, there's not an urgency to find out where she's being held. This is more like a…hobby, now. I suppose."

Scarlett grinned at him and was about to say something when Hurley walked up, looking out of breath.

"Yo, Sayid," he said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Sayid said, glancing at Scarlett slightly.

"Did you ever get that Gulf War Syndrome?" Hurley asked curiously. Sayid paused uncomfortably.

"That was the other side," he said.

"Oh…right," Hurley said slowly. He thought for a moment. "Then that's the one where they're all, like, shell-shocked?"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," Sayid said simply.

"Yeah, that's it," Hurley said. "Did you ever have that?"

"Why do you ask?" Sayid asked.

"Because I'm worried about Charlie," Hurley replied. Sayid glanced at Scarlett, and she glanced at him, both of them looking concerned.

"What's wrong with Charlie?" Sayid asked.

"I mean…he killed a guy," Hurley said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He shot him in the chest four times."

"Six," Scarlett muttered.

"Whatever," Hurley said. "Maybe you should talk to him?"

Sayid frowned and looked down at the ground.

"I suppose it couldn't do any harm," he said, though he didn't seem too thrilled about doing it. "Where is he now?"

Hurley pointed wordlessly, and Sayid nodded, excusing himself and walking down the beach towards Charlie, who appeared to be smashing a coconut on a stick. As soon as he was gone, Scarlett turned to Hurley.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked. "Charlie, I mean. Why'd you want Sayid to talk to him?"

"He's been acting really weird," Hurley said. "Really distant. He wouldn't even, like, look at me today. We were burying Ethan and he was just acting really messed up in the head, dude."

"Poor guy," Scarlett said absently, not really paying attention to her words as she watched Sayid walk over to Charlie. "He's probably just a little shocked that he actually killed someone. I mean, I remember when I…" Realizing what she was just about to say, she closed her mouth quickly. Hurley stared at her with a tired, weary look.

"I don't even want to know what you were about to say," he said. "Pretend it never happened."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a sad smile, glad that Hurley didn't seem to really care. Or maybe it was just that he was sick of all the weird things on the island. The last thing any of them needed was for one of them to be some kind of murderer. Scarlett smiled at the thought of Claire wielding a kitchen knife and chasing someone around as she cupped her hand under her large stomach.

"Later," Hurley said, walking off as if nothing had just happened. Scarlett sat down in the sand and put her head in her hands, sighing heavily. She sat there like that for a while; she didn't know how long, but then she felt someone sit next to her. She glanced up and was surprised to see Shannon sitting on her left.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Shannon said in reply. "I saw you sitting over here and thought maybe you could use someone to talk to or…something."

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at Shannon questioningly. Shannon definitely did not seem like the type of person to go around asking people if they needed someone to talk to. In fact, Shannon seemed like the type of person who would go around telling people that if they needed someone to talk to, they should look up their ass, because maybe someone in there would care.

"I was just…thinking," she said slowly.

"What about?" Shannon asked, pretending to be interested. It was an odd feeling, knowing that someone couldn't care less about what you said, and yet they insisted on you telling some sort of story.

"Just…stuff," Scarlett said, shrugging.

"Boone?" Shannon asked, smirking slightly. Scarlett flushed red and turned away.

"Partly," she admitted in a quiet voice. "But that's not all I think about, you know."

"Oh please," Shannon said, rolling her eyes. "If I had him in my arms every night, I wouldn't be thinking about anything else all day either."

Scarlett looked at Shannon with something like incredulity on her face, mixed with a bit of uncertainty.

"Umm…I'm pretty sure stuff like that's illegal, Shannon," she said, laughing despite herself.

"Wait…" Shannon said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at Scarlett. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?" Scarlett asked, already wishing that Shannon's sudden change to nice girl had never come about. She had a feeling that whatever came out of Shannon's mouth wasn't going to be good.

"About…us…" Shannon said slowly, evidently waiting to see if that rang any bells in Scarlett's head. When the other girl stared at her blankly, Shannon sighed sadly. "He really didn't tell you," she said as if her heart was breaking. "I…I can't believe he didn't…that makes no sense."

Scarlett was mentally willing Shannon to shut up, but some sick twisted part of her wanted to know what she was talking about. She was admittedly a little surprised that Boone was keeping secrets from her; all their long talks in the beginning, when they were first stranded, had pretty much revealed everything about themselves to each other. Though, of course, Scarlett had only recently come clean about her past. She hoped that it was just some little anecdote, and Shannon was just being melodramatic with her seemingly sympathetic surprise.

"What didn't he tell me?" Scarlett asked with trepidation. If Shannon noticed Scarlett's fear, she didn't give any indication.

"About us," Shannon said again in a low whisper. It was beginning to get extremely annoying that she wouldn't just tell her.

"What about you?" Scarlett asked.

"About how he's in love with me," Shannon said. At the slightly disgusted and surprised look on Scarlett's face, she hastened to explain. "We're not really related…my father married his mother when we were eight and ten. He's been in love with me ever since."

"Oh," Scarlett said slowly, surprised and feeling a little crushed. Though part of her insisted that she hadn't expected anything from Boone, and she wasn't surprised that he didn't really _love _her (after all, they had only known each other for a month), part of her felt like crying. "Okay."

"I don't mean to say that he doesn't _care_ about you," Shannon said quickly, finally seeing Scarlett's distress. "He does…it's just that he's still got those feelings for me, you know? I just think you should know, I guess, so if he's acting a little weird you don't think he, like, hates you or something."

"Oh…thanks…I guess," Scarlett said, not grateful at all but deciding that she could pretend.

"You're welcome," Shannon said sympathetically. "And just to let you know…if there was anyone I'd want him to have…it's you. I think you're the only person who can really help him get over me."

This last part sounded sincere, and Scarlett smiled sadly.

"Thanks, Shannon," she said, again not really thankful at all.

"I'll see you later," Shannon said, standing up and smoothing out her skirt.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, forcing a smile. "Bye."

"Bye," Shannon said, smiling and waving in an uncharacteristically happy way, turning and flouncing away airily.

After Shannon left, Scarlett sat there trying to convince herself that she didn't really love Boone anyway. It was too soon for love, she decided. They didn't even really know each other; they were just together because they could stand each other, and it was good to have someone to be with in a situation so scary and hopeless. She didn't love him and shouldn't expect him to love her either.

But, try as she might, she just couldn't convince herself.

* * *

Jack stood at the treeline, watching Scarlett with a thoughtful frown on his face. Hurley walked up, looking at Jack warily.

"Hey, man," he said. Jack jumped in surprise and turned to face him, looking guilty. "Umm…dude, you're being a little sketchy, just staring at her."

"Sorry," Jack said, laughing slightly. "Has she said anything to you about a stomach ache lately?"

"No, dude, why?" Hurley asked. "She isn't sick, is she?"

"I don't know," Jack said, glancing at Scarlett again out of the corner of his eye. "But I want to make sure she's all right. She's been having stomach aches and headaches for a few weeks now, I think."

"That might be a problem," Hurley said, making a face. "It isn't contagious, is it?"

Jack decided that he'd better go talk to Scarlett, and he walked away from Hurley before the other man could ask any more stupid questions. Hurley just turned and walked the other way, deciding that it was a good time to start avoiding Scarlett like the plague that she very well could have.

"Hey," Jack said, sitting down next to Scarlett in the sand. She glanced at him and smiled sadly. Jack could tell that there was something on her mind, but he knew she wouldn't want to talk to him about it, so he didn't bring it up.

"I'm not Kate, you know," she said. Jack looked at her questioningly. "You know, usually sitting on the beach and talking to you is her thing."

"And usually running off into the jungle after boar is your thing," Jack said. Scarlett looked at him questioningly. Jack shook his head. "Long story," he said. "I'm sure she'll tell you all about it later. But for now… I really wish you'd come to the caves to have a checkup."

"I've told you, Jack, I'm okay," Scarlett said, beginning to look a little annoyed.

"I know," Jack said. "But for the good of everyone in this camp, I think it would be best if we were absolutely certain. Just in case."

"Why, have people been complaining?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"No, no. I was just…concerned," Jack said, smiling in a friendly way. Scarlett smiled in a way that suggested she was feeling vaguely homicidal. Jack, if he noticed, pushed on fearlessly. "So you think you could do that?"

"Sure," Scarlett said, pretending to be agreeable. At the moment, she was too exhausted to do anything to complain about it. Though she was usually too tired to do anything _but _complain.

"Great," Jack said, standing up and holding his hand out for Scarlett to take. Much to both of their surprise, Scarlett took it. Jack pulled her up, somehow managing to not drop her in his shock, and the two of them started walking down the path to the caves.

* * *

"Okay," Jack said after he and Scarlett were seated in the little infirmary in the caves. "How often do these stomach aches occur?"

"Not _that _often," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "They don't usually last that long, either."

"What kind of stomach ache is it? Do you ever get nauseas?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Though I get weird cramping pains, too."

"What about headaches?" Jack asked. "I know you used to get them pretty bad. Are they any better?"

"They're less frequent," Scarlett answered. "But they're still around. I think they're totally unrelated to the stomach aches."

Jack nodded and wrote something down on the pad of paper he was holding in front of him.

"At what time do you usually feel the stomach aches?" he asked. "Is there any time specifically?"

"Not really," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I mean, usually it's right when I get up in the morning, but it can come at any time, really."

Jack frowned and scribbled something else.

"Is there anything else that's been happening recently that doesn't usually happen?" he asked. "Any other symptoms you can think of?"

"I'm tired a lot," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "Recently, I mean. I never used to be. I just thought that was because there wasn't much to do during the day, though."

"Right," Jack said, writing that down too. Scarlett bit her lip.

"So do you think something's wrong with me?" she asked nervously.

"I don't know," Jack said. "Open your mouth."

Scarlett went through a series of tests that were somewhat like the ones she went through at the doctor's offices back home, only a little more primitive and a little less sterile. She tried not to think about that.

"Now time for the more personal questions," Jack said. Scarlett inwardly groaned. _Perfect._ "When was the last time you had intercourse?"

Scarlett froze, staring at Jack as if he had just asked her…well, she stared at him with the exact reaction that she should have for that question; total incredulity.

"Umm…" she said slowly. "Back home or…on the island?"

Now it was Jack's turn to be surprised. He stared at her, clearly unsure of how to react.

"Umm…well…both," he stammered.

"Well…um…back home was about a week before we crashed," she said slowly. "And here was…um…" She looked at him defensively. "Yesterday."

"Yesterday," Jack said, his eyebrows arching as he wrote that down. "With who?"

"Oh, come on, you know who," Scarlett snapped. Jack looked at her innocently.

"No, I don't," he said seriously. Scarlett stared at him.

"You can't tell me nobody told you about me and Boone," she said. Jack's mouth opened slowly.

"No," he said. "Nobody told me that. I'm surprised no one's come to collect…I bet on you and Sawyer."

Scarlett rolled her eyes. Didn't anyone have anything better to do than bet on who she was hooking up with?

"Well, I had sex with Boone yesterday," Scarlett said forwardly, looking Jack in the eye. "On the beach. I don't recommend it. The sand's murder."

Jack stopped looking disappointed that she wasn't getting together with Sawyer and went right back to looking embarrassed. He wrote Boone's name down.

"And before the crash?" he said.

"Kevin," Scarlett said. "My boyfriend at the time. Broke up with me a few days before the crash."

Jack nodded and wrote that down.

"Did you and Kevin use protection?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied. "All the time."

"Do you find yourself having to go to the bathroom a lot?" Jack asked. Scarlett stared at him.

"Okay, I'm sensing a pattern here," she said nervously. Jack grimaced slightly.

"I'm not saying anything…I'm just asking."

"I _do _have to go to the bathroom a lot," Scarlett said with a sudden realization. "I suddenly love fish and want chocolate fudge more than anything in the world…I can't stand guava anymore…holy _fuck_, Jack…am I pregnant?"

Jack took one look at her face, the absolute terror and fear and the tears that were already creeping into her eyes, and he immediately was filled with sympathy for the poor girl.

"I don't know," he said. "But the fish and guava…" he wrote that down too. Scarlett stared down at her stomach, looking like she was going to be sick.

"Oh, God," she said, putting her hand to her forehead. "I can't be pregnant…God, not here."

She looked around, her eyes brimming with tears now. Jack could detect the panic in her voice, and he wished that Boone was there instead of off in the jungle.

"When was the last time you had your period?" he asked gently.

"Not since before the crash," Scarlett said, looking like she was just realizing this. "So that would make me…like two weeks late."

She looked at Jack painfully. He sighed.

"I think you may be pregnant," he said.


	56. Outlaws Part 2

Welllll, here's your update! Sorry it took a lot longer than expected. I've been quite busy once again here!

I got a new screenname, xStahlfan125x as an attempt to get closer to my reviewers. So if you ever want to talk, please do! Hehe!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, and please review again!

**Remus Lupin:** Hehehe, yay, I'm glad I managed to surprise someone with the whole Scarlett being pregnant thing! But please don't eat your bookshelf! I can't promise anything about Boone O:) . Locke will probably be yelled at either way, though! Hehehe. Thanks for the review!

**No idea: **YES! I'm glad I cause addictions. Addictions can be fun! And I do have an actress in mind. I kind of invented her, though, so that may be a problem. But as for actresses that actually exist, I kind of see her as Rachel McAdams. But that's just me, hahaha. Thanks for the review!

* * *

**Outlaws (2):** Pregnant

_"So, Scarlett," said Kevin uncomfortably as they sat together at the kitchen table. Thomas and Frank were both in the other room, getting drinks. "How do you like Australia?"_

_"It's nice," Scarlett said with a smile for the handsome man. "A lot more like America than I thought it would be."_

_"I'm glad," Kevin said honestly. "That you like it."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling shyly at him. Just then Thomas and Frank walked back in with Amy. _

_"Hey," she said to Kevin and Scarlett, bending down to give Scarlett a hug._

_"So where's this girlfriend of yours?" Scarlett asked Thomas. "She coming?"_

_"She doesn't feel good," Thomas said quietly. "She's been sick lately."_

_"Poor thing," Amy said sympathetically._

_"Yeah," Scarlett said. "I hope I get to meet her eventually!"_

_"Oh, you will," Frank said, pouring Scarlett a drink and handing it to her._

_"Thanks," she said, taking it from him and taking a sip. "I hope to. I've heard nothing but good things."_

_"She's a real sweetheart," Thomas said. Amy nodded in agreement, and Kevin smiled fondly. _

_"She's hot, too," Frank remarked._

_"Hey!" Thomas said indignantly, shoving Frank, who laughed good-naturedly. Kevin just smiled and pushed his black hair out of his eyes. Scarlett glanced at him, smiling slightly and looking away quickly, a faint reddish glow tinting her cheeks.

* * *

_

It was nearly dark when Boone walked into the caves with Locke, both of them laughing about something that had happened when they were hunting. As soon as Jack saw them walking through the trees, he headed over.

"Boone," he said seriously. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure, what about?" Boone asked, looking a little nervous at Jack's grave tone of voice.

"Scarlett," Jack said. "She's down at the beach now, and she has something to tell you. I think you should head down there. She was very distraught earlier and probably would like to talk to you."

Boone nodded, not noticing how Shannon turned and walked away rather swiftly, looking guilty. Claire walked up, looking concerned.

"Is Scarlett all right?" she asked. Jack nodded and smiled.

"She's fine," he said. "Let's have a look at the baby, okay?"

"Okay," Claire said, watching Boone as he walked quickly down to the path to the beach. Locke watched him go with a small, knowing smile, then glanced at Jack and chuckled to himself before going over to the waterfall and filling up a water bottle.

* * *

Boone found Scarlett lying on her towel on the beach, staring out at the water. She looked upset; he could see why Jack wanted him to go talk to her. He knelt beside her slowly, putting his hand on her back and rubbing down it gently. She shivered at the contact and looked up at him.

"Hey," he said, looking down on her with concern. "Jack said you were upset about something and needed to tell me about it."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her knees, which were pulled up to her chest. "I have something to tell you and…um…it's a big something."

Boone looked at her curiously.

"What is it?" he asked. Scarlett sighed and looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze.

"Jack thinks I may be pregnant," she whispered softly. Boone stared at her incredulously.

"You can't be pregnant," he said, looking a little panicked. "We only started having sex two days ago."

Scarlett gazed at him sadly.

"It's…it's not yours," she whispered. "It's Kevin's."

Boone stared at her with surprise, but to Scarlett's relief he didn't look angry or disappointed. He just looked…shocked.

"Is he sure?" he asked. Scarlett shook her head.

"No," she said. "But all the signs point to it."

Boone nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair.

"Well…I'm glad you're okay," he said after a pause. "At least isn't not some sort of, you know, disease or something."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed quietly.

"And you know, after Claire's baby is born, then yours…we'll start to have our own little jungle children running around here," Boone said cheerfully. "Like some sort of Swiss Family Robinson thing."

Scarlett smiled, thinking back to Kate's little fantasy about them all having children. It appeared that that was finally coming true, at least a little. It just scared Scarlett that she was one of the first to have to go through it. She was too young to have a child, especially under these conditions.

"Yeah," she said instead of expressing all those fears. Boone nodded; he knew she wasn't talking to him about everything and he wished that he knew how to make her open up more, but he didn't know how to go about doing that.

"We don't have to look at this as a bad thing," Boone said gently.

"What's good about it?" Scarlett asked sadly, looking up at him with tears glimmering in her eyes. Boone wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug as she cried. She turned into the embrace and buried her face in his chest, sobbing brokenly. "I can't do this," she cried. "I can't…I can't…" She gave up trying to say whatever it was that she wanted to say, and just let him hold her, feeling more secure than she had in a long time. But there was that tiny Shannon voice in the back of her mind saying _"he's in love with _me_."_

"Don't worry," Boone whispered into her hair, kissing it gently. "You've got me, Scarlett. I'm here for you."

Boone didn't see the way she closed her eyes painfully as he said that, or the way she nuzzled deeper into his embrace as if trying to forget that Shannon had ever opened her mouth. He just held her and let her cry and whispered supportive comments into her ear that she barely heard but soaked up anyway because at least he was saying _something_. And if she tried hard enough, she could pretend that he loved her, and everything would feel all right, if only for a few moments.

* * *

A few hours later, Scarlett and Boone were lying under their blankets on the beach. Boone was asleep, and his arm was around her waist snugly. Scarlett, on the other hand, was wide-awake. She held his arm in her hand, and she gently ran her fingers over it, earning a small shiver and a murmur into her ear, but he was still asleep. Nearby, the fire burned dimly. A little ways over, Scarlett could hear someone talking quietly. Judging by the voice, it sounded a little like Sayid, but she wasn't certain. The waves crashing on the beach made it hard to hear.

She sighed and took in a deep, shuddering breath, not wanting to start crying again but feeling a lump rising in her throat. Boone shifted slightly. Scarlett sniffled and closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep. She didn't want to stress out about being pregnant; after all she still had nine months to go and couldn't be stressed out for nine whole months. She didn't think she would last that long.

But still she couldn't help but worry. What was she supposed to do?

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she knew it was late into the night, maybe even early into the morning, and that it was a very restless one.

* * *

_Scarlett stood at the entrance to her apartment in Australia, looking around with tear-filled eyes._

_"Kevin, please," she said pleadingly to the Australian man who was packing his things. "I'm pregnant!"_

_"I know you're bloody pregnant," he yelled, surprising her. He slammed his suitcase closed. "And I don't fucking care."_

_"Kevin, please!" Scarlett yelled, reaching out to stop him, but when she touched him, the scene changed to a lonely street in front of an old and beat up house. Kevin morphed slowly into Stephen, and Scarlett backed away in horror._

_"Baby, you're pregnant?" he said, looking overjoyed. _

_"Get away from me," Scarlett said fiercely, her arm crossing her stomach protectively. _

_"Darling, this is great," Stephen said gently._

_"Stop it!" Scarlett screamed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she was standing on the beach. Boone stood in front of her, looking at her with sad eyes._

_"You'll always have me," he whispered. Scarlett sank to her knees as the beach faded to blackness and she was left alone in an empty void. She began to cry, burying her face in her hands and sobbing brokenly. Somewhere in the distance, she heard a crash, and then a baby crying. Then something behind her grabbed her shoulder. She screamed.

* * *

_

Scarlett awoke with a jolt to find that the sun was shining down on her in an annoyingly bright way. She squinted and rolled over, realizing that most people were up and about. She sighed and glanced around. Even Sawyer was doing something productive for once and helping some lady put up a tarp on her crude shelter. Of course, the lady seemed to be more interested in Sawyer than the tarp, and Sawyer was definitely not oblivious to that fact, but at least he was doing something. While Scarlett, on the other hand, was still in bed.

She sighed and struggled to her feet shakily, immediately feeling nauseas. However, the feeling thankfully soon passed, and she didn't have to rush into the bushes to find someplace to throw up where no one would step on it.

As she was about to look for some water, she saw Boone walking towards her out of the corner of her eye. Surprised, she turned to face him, arching an eyebrow.

"Boone," she said, smiling as he walked up to her and kissed her quickly.

"Hey," he said, grinning.

"How come you're not with Locke?" Scarlett asked. Boone shrugged and put his arms around her waist, smiling at her sweetly.

"I asked him if I could have a day off to spend with you," he said.

"And he let you have one?" Scarlett asked doubtfully. Boone grinned.

"Yeah," he said. "I talked him into it."

"Oh, really?" Scarlett asked, smirking at him and snaking her arms around his neck. Neither of them noticed how Stephanie scowled and walked off, looking very upset.

"Really," Boone said. "He said take all the time I need…he had something to do anyway."

"I'm glad," Scarlett said, smiling. "Because I've missed you."

"You've missed me?" Boone asked, sounding pleased.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "You don't know how long the day is without you to talk to."

"Oh, I think I know," Boone said with a small chuckle. "Because the day is just as long in the forest without you there."

Scarlett smiled and leaned forward, kissing him sweetly.

"Well aren't you two just bloody _adorable_," Charlie said sarcastically from behind Scarlett. She turned and grinned at his sour expression.

"Thank you," she said sweetly.

"You seen Claire?" he asked, walking up. Scarlett shook her head.

"She's probably at the caves," she said. "Considering that's where she always is."

"Right," Charlie said absently. "Silly me. The caves."

Scarlett and Boone exchanged a glance, and Scarlett untangled herself from Boone's embrace reluctantly.

"Everything okay, Charlie?" she asked him. He glanced at her as if surprised that she was still standing there.

"What? Yeah," he said quickly. "I don't know. I just…I gotta go."

He walked off, looking distracted, in the completely opposite direction of the caves. Boone couldn't help a small laugh.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"Who knows," Scarlett said. "Maybe he's still upset about having to kill Ethan."

"Maybe," Boone agreed. Scarlett walked Charlie walk off, sighing thoughtfully.

"I'll ask Claire about it later," she decided.

"How's Claire doing, anyway?" Boone asked. "Remembering stuff, I mean."

"I think she's doing a lot better," Scarlett said. "She remembered…some stuff without reading her diary." She bit her lip, hoping that Boone didn't notice the pause. She had been _about _to say 'she remembered Joanna's death without reading the diary', but decided against it last minute, figuring that she probably didn't want to bring that up with Boone.

"That's good," Boone said cheerfully, not noticing the pause at all. He and Scarlett started to walk down the beach. He took her hand after a bit, and she smiled to herself.

"So, been harassed by Stephanie lately?" Scarlett asked to make conversation.

"No, not really," Boone said with a laugh. "She kind of stopped talking to me after we started making out in public."

"Looks like Sawyer was right," Scarlett said, grinning.

"Looks like it," Boone agreed. "Speaking of harassment, have you been harassed by Jeff at all lately?"

"Jeff?" Scarlett asked with an incredulous laugh. "Jeff as in Jeff Thomas?"

"Yeah, Jeff as in Jeff Thomas," Boone said.

"I've never been harassed by Jeff," Scarlett said, shaking her head.

"Because his creepy flirting with you and obsessive stalking isn't harassment?" Boone asked, laughing.

"He doesn't creepy flirt!" Scarlett exclaimed. "He's a nice guy!"

Boone was still laughing. Scarlett laughed too.

"Just pay attention next time," Boone said. "I'm sure you'll find he's quite the creepy flirt."

"I think you're jealous," Scarlett said jokingly. Boone looked at her seriously.

"What if I am?" he asked. Scarlett glanced at him questioningly, and he smiled at her before leaning in to kiss her. Scarlett smiled and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yo, dudes!" came Hurley's yell from back over near the camp. "Public sex is a public nuisance. Go into the trees for that, man!"

Boone reached up one hand and flipped Hurley off. The other man's laugh carried over to them, and then Scarlett and Boone grabbed each other's hands and walked towards the forest.

"Later, man," Boone yelled over his shoulder to Hurley as they disappeared into the trees. Back at camp, Hurley walked them go, shaking his head.

"Lucky bastard," he muttered, then slipped his headphones back on and continued listening to his music.

* * *

Later on, when it was nearly sunset, Scarlett and Boone were sitting together on their blanket near the beach when Kate walked over to them.

"Sawyer was just looking for you," she told Boone. Boone kissed Scarlett on the cheek.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said. He smiled at Kate before walking over to where Sawyer was walking into his tent, looking pissed off about something. Kate sat down on the blanket next to Scarlett.

"So where've you been?" Scarlett asked. "Jack mentioned chasing a boar, but he didn't seem to want to go into any of the details."

"Yeah, Sawyer insisted this boar was after him," Kate said, rolling her eyes. "It took his tarp and wrecked his camp. I thought it would be funny to follow him, but he was _so _pathetically lost, I _had _to help him."

"So you spent the night in the forest…looking for a boar," Scarlett said slowly. Kate grinned slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "And you know what…it was fun."

Scarlett smiled at the tone in her voice. She sounded like a little girl admitting that she had a crush. Of course, she wasn't admitting anything, not yet.

"I'm glad it was fun," Scarlett said happily. "You and Sawyer should spend more time together."

"Oh, shut up," Kate said, shoving Scarlett's shoulder slightly. She paused and bit her lip, looking down at the ground. "Um…we were at the caves before we came here. And…I was talking to Jack…"

"Oh my God," Scarlett groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"I could tell something was wrong, so I asked him and…after a while, you know, he told me…" Kate was clearly having a hard time talking about this. She looked at Scarlett mournfully and finally just wrapped her arms around her friend. Scarlett tried to fight the tears, but they came anyway, and she hugged Kate tightly in return, admittedly surprised when she noticed the other woman's shoulders shaking as well. She was crying too.

She wanted to know what was wrong with Kate, but the moment was too perfect and beautiful for her to ruin. So they just sat there and cried and held one another, not caring who saw. They just needed to comfort each other, and to be comforted, and neither needed to talk about why.

* * *

"Scarlett's _what_?" Sawyer asked incredulously, arching his eyebrows. Boone nodded slowly, sighing.

"Pregnant," he repeated. "Some asshole named Kevin back in Australia."

"She really picks the winners, huh?" Sawyer muttered to himself. He glanced at Boone. "Besides you, of course, Metro."

"Yeah," Boone said unhappily.

"No, I'm serious," Sawyer said sternly. "I think you're the one good guy she's ever had in her life."

"Yeah, well, that's not saying much," Boone said bitterly.

"I know," Sawyer said. "But trust me, she's lucky to have you. Any other guy would have taken off and left her at first mention of the 'p' word."

"Would you have?" Boone asked pointedly. Sawyer shrugged.

"I can't say," Sawyer remarked. "Because I ain't been there."

"Oh, come on," Boone said, rolling his eyes. "You can't tell me you've never gotten a girl pregnant before."

"Nope," Sawyer said proudly.

"Maybe you're not as big a slut as I thought," Boone chuckled. Sawyer just grinned at him.

"Maybe," he said cryptically.

"I'm just worried for her, you know?" Boone continued after a short pause. "I mean…out here…it's gotta be really scary for her."

"Yeah," Sawyer agreed. "But you just be there for her, Metro, and she ain't got nothing to worry about."

Boone nodded slowly.

"Thanks, Sawyer," he said.

"No problem, Metro," Sawyer replied, and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence.

* * *

After Kate left without ever telling Scarlett what was wrong, Scarlett was sitting alone on the beach when Boone walked up and sat down beside her, smiling at her.

"Hey," he said gently.

"Hey," Scarlett said, smiling at him in return. He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly.

"I've been thinking," he said slowly. "About the whole…pregnant thing." He paused.

"Oh," Scarlett said lamely, not sure of what he wanted her to say to that.

"And I just wanted you to know, because I know this is probably really hard…I'm going to be here for you. Always."

Scarlett looked at Boone deeply and smiled sadly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You're so sweet," she said, the barest hint of tears in her voice. "You really are. I swear there's no one in the world like you."

Boone smiled into her hair.

"Oh, please," he said sarcastically. "There's plenty of guys in the world better than me."

Scarlett pulled back and looked him in the eye lovingly.

"No," she said seriously. "I have never met or heard of anyone better than you in this world, Boone Carlyle. And I have a feeling that that's because there _isn't _anyone better."

Boone looked at her sadly and shook his head.

"If there's anyone here who's the best in the world, Scarlett, it's you. I've never met anyone like you before."

"Well then I guess the feeling's mutual," Scarlett said decisively, managing to dry her tears and force a smile for Boone. Boone smiled and nodded and hugged her again, and this time they sat there for a long while together. Scarlett reveled in the happiness that came with being in Boone's arms. It seemed that she and Boone's relationship had just been carried to another level, though she wasn't really sure what that meant or even what level that was. But it didn't matter because whatever it was, it was good.

* * *

_Scarlett, Frank, Kevin, and Thomas reached the nightclub, looking around for Amy and Natalie, Thomas's new girlfriend. _

_"I still can't believe you broke up with her," Kevin muttered under his breath. Thomas glared at him. The subject of how Thomas had abandoned his pregnant girlfriend, though he had been the one who wanted the baby in the first place, was a sensitive subject among the four tight friends. _

_"Hey, let's not talk about that," Frank said quickly. "Let's just have a good time, right? Then we can talk about it later."_

_Scarlett and Kevin exchanged a glance and shrugged moodily. Both of them were extremely upset with Thomas and hadn't been acting normally around him lately. Frank was the only one who seemed to treat him the same way despite what he had done. _

_They walked out onto the dance floor, and Frank and Amy started dancing together, while Thomas and Natalie walked off to find some private corner._

_"Umm…want to dance?" Scarlett asked Kevin shyly._

_"Sure," he replied with a grin, just as shyly. Scarlett smiled at him and began to dance. However, they had only been dancing for a few moments when the fast, pulsing music became a slow, romantic tune. After a moment's hesitation, Scarlett wrapped her arms around Kevin's waist and they began to dance slowly. There was a long, awkward moment of silence, so Scarlett decided that she should break it._

_"You know," she said slowly. "I used to think that I'd never be happy, back when I was in America…but here…here I'm more happy than I've ever been. I really appreciate you guys taking me in like you did. I'd have no idea what to do with myself if you hadn't."_

_"No problem, love," Kevin said with a small smile. "We love having you."_

_"You guys rescued me," Scarlett said decisively, smiling at him. "I'm so thankful to you for that."_

_"Hey," Kevin said, shrugging. "Everyone gets rescued eventually." At Scarlett's questioning glance, he explained. "It's something Thomas used to say to his girl all the time."_

_"Oh," Scarlett said with a small smile. "It's cute."_

_"And it's true," Kevin said. Scarlett realized that their faces were very close together. Kevin seemed to realize it at the same time, and they stared at each other for a few moments before Kevin slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers lovingly. Scarlett returned the kiss lovingly as the slow music continued around them. Scarlett thought to herself that it was the most romantic moment of her life.

* * *

_

Later on, Scarlett sat on the beach near the trees, watching as the lives of the castaways continued almost in slow motion. Walt threw a stick to Vincent, who barked and chased after it. Walt laughed and cheered him on, jumping up and down with excitement and rosy-cheeked joy that made Scarlett's heart warm considerably. A little ways down the beach, Charlie walked up to Claire and crouched down beside her, smiling at her. Claire smiled back, and Scarlett pulled her knees up to her chest, smiling at them as they talked.

Sun and Jin walked down the beach slowly, both of them closing their eyes in identical fashions and breathing in the smell of the salty water. They were holding hands. Scarlett smiled and tilted her head to one side, glancing at Kate's tent. Sawyer and Kate were sitting on the sand, staring out at the ocean with haunted looks in their eyes. Even from a distance, Scarlett could see that he wanted to say something to her, and she wanted to say something to him, but neither of them had any idea of what to say. So they just sat there in silence. Scarlett thought to herself that it was like a perfect silence that couldn't and shouldn't be broken by anything.

She glanced back at Charlie and Claire, and saw that they were walking down the beach side by side, smiling at each other and looking like they had before Ethan had taken them. Scarlett smiled sadly and rummaged through her bag at her side, picking up her camera and taking a picture of the happy couple, smiling at it as it came out. The sunset in the background was a beautiful backdrop to the two maybe-more-than-friends. Scarlett smiled at the picture and tucked it onto her bag, closing her eyes and letting her hair brush across her face. She knew that this was the beginning of a hard time, and she knew that she'd be able to survive and make herself stronger if only she appreciated what she had.

Picking up her bag, she stood up and walked off to find Boone, the smile on her face not showing any sign of fading anytime soon.


	57. In Translation Part 1

Hokay! Here we go with another chapter! I've been really really sick lately and am on lots and lots of cough medicine, so if you review right away you might get an interesting response! That's right, bribery to review faster! Moohaha!

Anyway, let's get this show on the road because it is CURRENTLY 1:30 am and I'm actually quite tired. SO _thank you_ to all my wonderfully amazing reviewers! Without you, none of this could be possible…because I definitely lack the motivation to do ANYTHING, hahaha. Please review again! I would love that so much:D

**Remus Lupin: **Yeah, agreed that Scarlett should have a talk with Boone. Though, I have to make good drama, because good drama means good reading, so Scarlett's going to lost some of her common sense on this one. Which isn't all that hard to believe considering she seems to lose it a lot, hahaha. And yeah, Boone's not the biological father, but that doesn't mean he can't love the kid! Cus Boone's just a real sweetheart :D.  
Locke needs a few slaps for what he did to Boone! Grrr! I still haven't forgiven him for that.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP: **Hahaha, I was just typing your name and got amused because in my other long fic (which is NOTHING compared to this one. It's only like 15 chapters. PSH, 15! Ha!) one of the main characters is named Jimmy Paton, which is JimmyP! Hahaha. And that was so a coincidence too! It's amusing!

Hahaha, don't worry about missing one of my chapters. I'd miss them too if I didn't write them:D.  
Agreed completely about the whole needing to be protected because of the creepy Others thing! And yes, that does sound rather disturbing! Hahaha.  
I knew the episode was going to be a really short one as soon as I decided to use it to focus on Scarlett's pregnancy rather than have her travel with Kate and Sawyer.  
JT is definitely not forgotten! It'll come up soon enough :D  
I liked both of the episodes, though they were a little pointless. Then again, it's lost, hahaha. I like anything related to it.  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**..In Translation (1): **Sun and Jin

Scarlett awoke in Boone's arms to the soft, gentle sound of ocean waves crashing on the beach. She sighed with contentment and let herself rest against Boone's warm body. Looking up at the sky, she decided that it was definitely a day for swimming. It had been too long, and she decided that she wanted to take a bath so she wouldn't smell. Everyone else in the island could smell if they wanted to, but Scarlett was going to take a bath. She glanced at Boone out of the corner of her eye, careful not to move so she wouldn't wake him. She thought that maybe she should get him in the water too. He _was _looking a little dirty. Fortunately she didn't notice if he smelled weird. _Everyone_ smelled weird.

Somehow managing to not move Boone too much, she got to her feet as he slept peacefully on. She smiled at him and walked over to her bag of things, picking it up and bringing it down the beach with her. She had learned long ago to wear her bathing suit under her clothes so she didn't have to change, and so simply removed her shirt and pants and stepped into the water.

It was oddly warm for the morning, and she dove right in, relishing the smooth feeling of the water against her skin. She emerged from beneath the water and pulled her hair out of its elastic, shaking it out and sighing with content, arching her back and dipping her hair into the water. She noticed Steve watching her, and she flipped him off. He pretended he hadn't been watching.

"Hey," came a voice a little farther down the beach. It was Kate. She was wearing her bathing suit too. "Looks like we both had the same idea."

Scarlett grinned at her friend. She saw Steve glancing back at them and sighed heavily.

"Yeah, looks like the pervert's enjoying it," Scarlett muttered angrily. Kate didn't hear her. She dove into the water, and emerged a few moments later a few feet away from Scarlett, sputtering and pushing the wet hair out of her face, laughing.

"I'd forgotten how good that felt," she said.

"So had I," Scarlett said with a laugh. "I got us some of Sun's shampoo, too.

"Excellent," Kate said, a wide grin forming on her pretty face. "My hair is _so _disgusting. I swear I have things _living _in it."

Scarlett laughed and swam to the shore, shivering slightly in the air, which was colder than the water. She made her way to her bag and dug out some of Sun's infamous island shampoo, which was being held in an old Pantene Pro-V bottle.

"Catch!" she exclaimed, tossing it to Kate. Kate caught it and the two of them laughed as Scarlett dove back into the water. They each poured some shampoo, and then tossed the bottle back on the beach, where it lay next to Scarlett's bag.

"So," Kate said as they lathered their hair. "How's things with Boone?"

"Amazing," Scarlett said with a small sigh of happiness. "He's such a sweet man. Sometimes I wonder how I met a guy like him."

"Because you're an amazing girl," Kate said, as if it were obvious. "You deserve all the happiness he can give you."

Scarlett smiled at her friend gratefully, but inwardly she was thinking about Shannon. Shannon was so pretty and perfect and actually really sweet when she wanted to be. How could she ever measure up to her in Boone's eyes? How could she even begin to?

Kate seemed to notice the uncertainty in Scarlett's eyes, and she tilted her head to one side, questioning. Scarlett shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. Kate rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and shrugged.

"Okay, fine," she said, smiling at her friend. "Don't tell me now…but I _will _get it out of you later."

"You can try," Scarlett laughed. Kate splashed her slightly with water and started to walk out.

"I should probably go get dressed," she said over her shoulder. "I'm supposed to be helping Jack with the remaining clothes sorting them and everything."

"That's still not done?" Scarlett asked doubtfully.

"Nope," Kate answered. "There's a bunch of stuff left over that nobody wants, so Jack was hoping to make them into blankets or something like that. I don't really know; he hasn't told me what we're doing yet. He just told me to meet him once people started getting up."

Scarlett glanced at the beach. People were indeed starting to get up. She smiled.

"Have fun," she said sarcastically. Kate laughed.

"Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be sure to have tons."

"Good," Scarlett said with a smile, and she went back to shampooing her hair as Kate walked out of the water, earning an appreciative whistle from Sawyer.

"Damn, Freckles," he said, blatantly checking her out. "I'll never understand why such a beautiful woman hides behind all those clothes. You should wear this outfit more often."

Kate didn't even dignify Sawyer's remarks with a response. She just shook her head and put her pants on, giving Sawyer a pointed look before she gathered the rest of her stuff and walked off towards the little camp. Sawyer turned to Scarlett.

"I say something?" he asked innocently. Scarlett laughed and continued washing out her hair. "Another thing I'll never understand; why you say something to a woman that's supposed to be a damn compliment, and they end up actin' like you just said somethin' horrible."

"Hey, not all women like perverts," Scarlett said pointedly. "Some women like sweet men."

"Yeah, like Jackass?" Sawyer asked, snorting. "_Please_. 'Sides, I can be sweet if I want to."

"Sure you can," Scarlett snorted.

"I can!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"You couldn't be _sweet_ if your life depended on it," Scarlett laughed.

"You wanna bet?" Sawyer asked.

"Maybe you should ask Jack and Sayid about betting," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes.

"I will. And I'm gonna win! I bet that I can get Kate to say that I did something sweet by the end of the day. Just you wait and see."

"Oh, I'll be waiting," Scarlett said, laughing. "I'll be waiting for a long, long time."

"Oh, you'll see," Sawyer muttered darkly, narrowing his eyes at her. He turned and walked up the beach, his shoulders hunched as he undoubtedly planned what he was going to do to make Kate say he was sweet.

Scarlett chuckled to herself as she continued washing out her hair. She glanced at the beach and saw Boone walking down towards the water, grinning.

"Hey," he said to her as he reached the shore.

"Hey," Scarlett said with a smile. "Come on in!"

Boone looked wary for a moment (Scarlett would have bet anything that it had to do with Joanna) but at Scarlett's pouting glance, he took off his shirt and dove right in. Scarlett laughed as he emerged from the water, brushing the hair out of his eyes and shaking it out, spraying her with water. She squealed and covered her eyes, turning away and laughing. Then she felt Boone's arms circle her waist from behind, and she turned around to face him. He kissed her deeply, and she put her hands on either side of his face, pulling him closer.

"You're amazing," Boone whispered to her as she pulled away. Scarlett looked at him questioningly.

"What?" she asked with a small little laugh, not really sure what prompted the sudden show of affection.

"I was just…I was thinking last night," Boone replied. "About everything. You know, my life…and I realized that you're the _best _thing that has _ever _happened to me." At the surprised look on Scarlett's face, he hurriedly continued. "I don't want you to think I'm like…obsessed or anything…but you really are. I know it's cheesy…but it's true. You're so amazing."

"You know," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "I think that's exactly how I feel about you."

Boone smiled at her lovingly and kissed her again. Scarlett wanted to say to him those three small words that would change the dynamic of their relationship forever, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. In the back of her mind, she could still hear Shannon's voice, and those words that she said. She sighed and let Boone kiss her, wondering if he really meant what he said, or if he was just trying to get over Shannon in the only way he thought he could; finding someone else.

If there was one thing that Scarlett was good at, it was managing to make her self-worth as low as it possibly could be. Though by all rights she should be thrilled with the things Boone was saying to her, she was questioning him and their relationship. She knew her doubts were what caused her relationship with Kevin to fail, along with the fact that she had still been in love with Stephen at the time, and she didn't want her doubts to ruin her relationship with Boone.

She decided that she'd wait until later to talk to him about it, since for now he seemed perfectly content to be where he was. Scarlett herself wasn't feeling too disappointed with their current situation either. If she pretended hard enough, she could think as she kissed him in the ocean that he really _did _love her.

"How're you feeling?" Boone asked suddenly, looking at her with concern. "You know…the whole baby thing."

"Better than yesterday," Scarlett said, grinning. "And I didn't feel too sick this morning either. It's like now that I know it's there, it's settling down a little."

"That's good," Boone said, laughing. He suddenly stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder what it is."

Scarlett stopped too, and suddenly the enormity of what she was carrying inside of her hit her. In a few months, she could be holding a baby girl in her arms, or a baby boy. Either way, it was a hard blow to deal with, and she gasped a little in surprise.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly to cover up her sudden fears. "I wonder."

"What're you hoping for?" Boone asked, tilting his head to one side and smiling at her. Scarlett thought for a moment, and she smiled slightly as she imagined holding a baby girl in her arms and brushing her soft, dark hair. She thought of singing to her and teaching her to talk and walk and watching her play.

"A girl," she said almost wistfully, looking at Boone with a smile. "I think I want a girl."

Boone grinned at her sheepishly.

"Yeah," he said. "A girl would be great."

Scarlett stared at him, suddenly realizing that he had actually put some thought into it, and he wanted a girl as well. The realization that he actually _cared_, not only about her, but about her child, was enough to make a lump form in her throat. She bit her lip and smiled at him.

"I just need to think of a name," she said. "If it's a girl, and if it's a boy, I mean."

"I know there's a baby name book around here somewhere," Boone said, putting his hands on her stomach. She laughed.

"There isn't even anything there, yet," she exclaimed. "If you're looking for it, you're going to have to wait a while."

"Oh, it's in here," Boone said. "It's just hiding."

Scarlett laughed and kissed him; just a quick little peck. Boone smiled and pecked her back. They both laughed like giddy teens sharing their first kiss, and neither of them minded how ridiculous they looked.

However, their happy moment was interrupted by yelling down the beach. Both of their heads snapped towards the sound like deer caught in headlights, and they watched as Jin and Sun fought on the beach. Sun was wearing a bikini, and Jin didn't seem to be too happy about it. He was trying to cover her with a shirt and was yelling viciously at her in Korean. Sun was yelling back, apparently protesting. She attempted to pull her wrist out of Jin's grasp, and he pulled back, resulting in her tripping and falling onto the sand. Scarlett gasped and glanced at Boone.

"Should we do something?" she asked uncertainly.

"I don't know what we _would _do," Boone said slowly. "I guess that's just how they do things. They'd probably get mad if we interfered."

"Yeah," Scarlett said reluctantly. Unfortunately, Michael decided that it was wise to intervene.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, starting to run over to them. "Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!" He reached the arguing couple and pushed Jin away from Sun. "Hey! Get your hands off her!"

Jin yelled back angrily in Korean.

"Bad idea, Michael," Boone said slowly.

"I swear to God, you put your hands on her one more time…" Michael started. Jin stepped towards Michael and started shouting even louder in Korean. Scarlett wasn't sure what he said, but she was willing to bet it was something nasty. He poked Michael in the chest with his finger. Michael shoved his hand away roughly. "Get your hands off me!"

Jin and Michael glared at each other with equal expressions off annoyance and anger. There was a short pause as no one on the beach moved, but just watched the little fight in front of them. Then, Sun stepped towards Michael and slapped him across the face with more strength than anyone thought she had. She glared at Michael, who looked absolutely shocked, and then she grabbed Jin's hand, leading him back up to the camp. Michael stared after them, holding onto his cheek and looking a mixture of saddened and pissed off, but above all confused. There was a long pause, and people on the beach slowly started moving around once again, the earlier spell broken.

"What was that all about?" Scarlett asked under her breath, glancing at Boone. He shrugged, obviously just as perplexed as she was.

"He was just trying to help her," he said.

"Yeah," Scarlett remarked. Not only that, but she had thought that Michael and Sun were friends. Why would she hit him? "I don't know… maybe that's just how they do it."

"Yeah," Boone remarked, still looking slightly puzzled. He shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory. "Who knows. It's a little hard to figure out when none of them speak any English."

Scarlett laughed nervously.

"Yeah," she said. She felt badly about not telling Boone that Sun really _could _speak English, but it wasn't her secret to go telling. Besides, she thought bitterly, it wasn't as if Boone had been totally honest with her either. _He _was the one who neglected to mention that he was still in love with someone else; his stepsister. "We should probably go get dressed."

Boone nodded reluctantly, and the two of them walked out of the water, shaking out their hair, the fun mood gone. It seemed that fun moods never lasted for long on the island. Everything was always overshadowed by something darker that would suck the fun out of anything.

All of a sudden, Scarlett felt a sudden rush of panic as her mind went over their situation on the island. She had known all along that it was a hopeless situation; they were stranded on an island with no way off. But the full enormity of it hit her all at once, and she faltered a little as she walked alongside Boone. She honestly believed in those few moments that she would never be able to smile again because of the island and because of what she was going to have to go through eventually. She thought of all the problems they would have to face, not just in the near future, but in the next ten, twenty years if they were really stranded that long. It hit her so hard that she wanted nothing more than to just curl up in the sand and give up.

That was when Scarlett decided that she was tired of giving up. All her life she had given up on things; she had given up when it came to Stephen, had given up on ever being happy. She wanted just once to fight for her happiness. So she decided that she would. No matter what adversity she faced or what happened in the future, she would still fight to be happy and to make others around her happy.

Boone walked alongside her, oblivious of this life changing realization in Scarlett, and he reached out and took her hand. It was the perfect moment for him to do that, and even though he couldn't have known what Scarlett was thinking, it almost felt like he had. She smiled and looked up at him, and he looked down on her, smiling as well. It was a perfect moment, and Scarlett wished that someone could take a picture of it so she would have that little moment forever.

* * *

Later on, after Locke and Boone were gone off into the jungle of mystery, Scarlett walked around the beach aimlessly before finally deciding to go talk to Michael, who was working on his raft.

"Hey," she said as she walked up. He turned and looked at her, then smiled.

"Oh, hey," he said. "Sorry. Thought you were Sun coming back."

"Why, what happened?" Scarlett asked.

"Can you give me a hand here? Sorry, it's just that…"

"No, no problem," Scarlett insisted, climbing onto the raft and holding a large stick steady as Michael started wrapping twine around it. "So what happened with Sun?"

"She came up and started telling me that she hit me earlier for my _protection_." Michael snorted and shook his head. "Protection?" He scoffed. "_Please_."

"Protection from what?" Scarlett asked curiously, shifting slightly and almost slipping, but managing to keep her balance.

"Jin," Michael said, rolling his eyes. "She said I didn't know what he was capable of."

"The guy certainly does seem a little high strung," Scarlett said carefully. "Maybe he's like some sort of Korean mob boss or something."

Michael laughed.

"That guy probably worked a blue collar job back there," he said. "He's probably just an asshole to his wife."

"Probably?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow. Michael nodded begrudgingly.

"Well, yeah," he said. "Definitely."

"I feel bad for her," Scarlett decided. "I mean, to have to live with that…it's not the best way."

Michael seemed to detect the defensiveness in her voice, the hidden sadness, and he gazed at her sadly.

"Yeah," he said knowingly, as if he could see into her past and see why she was so sad and so closed off. "Yeah, it's not."

Scarlett smiled at him sadly, and he smiled sadly back, and then they continued working in silence on the little raft.

* * *

_"I think we need to talk about a few things, Scarlett," Kevin said slowly, biting his lip as he looked at her, as if looking for permission. Scarlett nodded slowly._

_"I think so too," she said. Kevin nodded with a relieved expression in his eyes. _

_"Okay," he said. "You know all about Rachel…you know how she broke my heart."_

_"I do," Scarlett said, feeling slightly guilty that Kevin had spilled his heart to her about an old girlfriend and she hadn't said a word concerning Stephen._

_"Then you'll know why I want to have things be a little casual, at least at first," Kevin said slowly. "I don't mean to sound like an ass…but I wasn't planning on having a relationship this early, you know?"_

_"I completely understand," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I know exactly how you feel. I'm just coming off of a bad relationship myself, back in America."_

_"So do we want to just keep it casual for a while?" Kevin asked, sounding relieved. Scarlett nodded, feeling some relief herself._

_"Yeah," she said. "I think that would be best for the both of us."_

_They smiled at each other, both of them feeling a lot better about the situation than they had before.

* * *

_

"Scarlett!"

Scarlett was sitting on the beach, staring out to the waves, when she heard someone calling her name. It was Sayid. She smiled at him, surprised. Usually she was the one seeking him out.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"I was looking for Shannon," Sayid said, looking as if he was positively _glowing_ with happiness. "Have you seen her?"

"No," Scarlett said reluctantly. "Sorry."

Sayid looked crestfallen for a moment, but then he perked right back up.

"Well, I must find her," he said. "I will talk to you later."

With a nod and a smile, he walked off down the beach, practically _flouncing_.

"Someone's in a good mood," said Kate to the right of Scarlett as she walked down the beach towards her. Scarlett chuckled and watched after Sayid, shaking her head.

"Good mood doesn't even begin to describe that," she said, turning to face her friend. "I half expected him to start skipping."

"Yeah," Kate laughed. "Which would have been extremely entertaining."

"Definitely," Scarlett agreed with a chuckle at the thought. Kate sat down next to her, looking out at the water for a long moment before turning to face Scarlett with a small smile.

"So how are you?" she asked.

"I'm okay," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Same as always."

"Yeah," Kate said with a sigh. "Me too. It's so…I don't know…hopeless here. Bleak."

"Bleak's a good word," Scarlett agreed with a sighed. "I feel so…I don't know. Empty? Maybe? Here, I mean. I don't really know how to describe it."

"I don't think you have to," Kate said with a sad laugh. "I know what you mean."

Scarlett sighed heavily and looked out to the ocean, shaking her head.

"How can they not find us?" she asked absently. "We're right here…God, it's so…frustrating."

"It is," Kate agreed with a heavy sigh, looking out to the water with a haunted expression in her eyes. Scarlett could tell from the way she was looking out there that Kate was just as eager to get back to the real world as Scarlett was; meaning not eager in the slightest. She looked down at her stomach and ran a hand over it, feeling slightly overwhelmed for a moment as she thought of the life she was carrying inside of her. How was she supposed to be a mother? She didn't know anything about parenting except what Carrie had taught her concerning Nattie; which, unfortunately, wasn't much. Scarlett, at sixteen years old, wasn't very inclined to want to help out with the baby.

She must have sighed aloud, because Kate turned to look at her with a comforting smile that didn't hold a lot of faith in it.

"But don't worry," she said. "They'll find us eventually. We can't just spend the rest of our lives here. We can't."

"Yeah," Scarlett, though her tone sounded just as convinced as Kate had looked just then. She decided that a change of subject would be best for the both of them. "What was all that with Sun and Jin today, do you know?"

Kate shook her head, her brow furrowing as she thought about it, looking concerned.

"No," she said. "I haven't talked to Sun about it yet. I just figured he didn't want her showing so much of herself or something."

"He's crazy," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "He can't honestly expect her to walk around in long sleeves all day. It gets pretty hot here."

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "I feel really bad for her. She has to watch all of us lounging around in our bathing suits, while she has to walk around in long shirts and pants because her husband wants her to."

"Yeah," Scarlett said sadly. "I feel bad too. Stephen was a lot like that. Not letting me wear anything revealing, I mean."

"Really?" Kate asked sadly. "I had a relationship like that before. Didn't last very long, but while I was in it, I felt so restricted and _imprisoned_. I hated it."

"I wonder if Sun feels imprisoned," Scarlett said thoughtfully, wrapping her arms around her knees and laying her head sideways atop them so she was looking at Kate. Kate nodded, looking haunted once again.

"Yeah," she said. "Probably. I mean…Jin is so…controlling."

"But she still loves him," Scarlett said with wonder.

"I think she loves who he used to be," Kate said decisively. "Not who he is now. Whenever I try to bring it up, she always says something like 'he never used to be like this'. I don't think she wants to accept the fact that he's changed."

"Or maybe she knows that deep down he's still the same person," Scarlett said quietly. It was clear to both of them that this conversation wasn't just about Sun and Jin anymore. Both of them were talking about different men than the man whose name they were actually saying.

Realizing this, they both smiled at each other and turned to look out at the ocean.

"Who knows what she's thinking," Kate said slowly. "We really can't know, no matter what we've been through similar to this…we really can't know. Maybe for Sun it's different."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Everyone's different."

"Yeah," Kate agreed. There was a long silence as the both of them reflected on their own situations and how they would connect with Sun's. Long comfortable silences were one of the characteristics of their friendship that Scarlett enjoyed so much. There was no need for conversation; their friendship just _was_, and that was the way she liked it.

Scarlett wasn't sure how long they sat there for, but Kate eventually sighed with resignation and turned to Scarlett.

"I should go," she said. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be meeting with Sawyer."

Scarlett gave Kate a surprised look, her eyebrows arching insinuatingly.

"What for?" she asked.

"Nothing like _that_," Kate said, rolling her eyes, but smiling slightly. "He just wants to talk about something."

"Well, you have fun," Scarlett said, still in the same tone. Kate glared at her.

"I should hit you," she muttered angrily.

"But you won't," Scarlett said with a sweet smile. Kate sighed and shook her head in mock sadness.

"No," she agreed. "Though one day, maybe."

"You just try," Scarlett shot back. Kate smiled and stood to her feet, waving goodbye and walking off down the beach to find Sawyer.

Scarlett sat there for another moment or two before she got up and decided to go see if Michael needed some help with the raft again. She walked over to where she could see Michael and Walt hard at work.

"Hey, guys," she said.

"Hey!" Walt exclaimed, smiling at her. Michael turned and glanced at her, smiling as well.

"Hey," he said. "Excellent timing. Wanna help out?"

"I was just looking for a job," Scarlett said with a grin. "What a coincidence."

Michael laughed, and he beckoned to Scarlett. She walked over, pulling her hair into a messy bun and placing her hands on her hips as Michael explained what she was going to do.

"Just take this wire and tie it tight around the sticks, like this," Michael said, demonstrating for Scarlett. "Do it twice for each one, so it holds together, and then move on to the next one. Got it?"

"Got it," Scarlett confirmed. She started to tie the sticks together tightly to demonstrate that she knew what she was doing. After a few moments of watching her, Michael nodded, satisfied, and turned back to talking to Walt.

"You are going to love New York, Walt. No city like it. And what I really want to show you in New York are the buildings, the architecture."

Walt looked at his father doubtfully.

"Buildings?" he asked.

"Yeah," Michael chuckled. "I used to say that too…'til I saw the Flat Iron building."

"What's that?" Walt asked, actually looking interested.

"Oldest skyscraper in the city," Michael replied, looking almost proud, as if he had been the one to build it. "Built in 1902. And it's flat. That one building inspired me to start drawing and, you know, designing things."

Scarlett smiled to herself slightly as Walt looked at his father skeptically.

"Why?" he asked.

"You just gotta see it, man," Michael said, shaking his head. "You want to see it, right?"

"I guess," Walt said indifferently, shrugging. "Can I go throw the ball to Vincent?"

"Yeah," Michael said, looking slightly disappointed that Walt didn't share his enthusiasm for architecture. Scarlett smiled and looked down at her work so Michael wouldn't see it. It was almost cute how Michael was so new to the parenting thing. It looked as though Claire wasn't the only one who had no idea what to do.

Walt jumped off the boat and ran through the sand.

"Come on Vincent!" he exclaimed. Vincent bounded after him, barking joyously. Scarlett watched them running down the beach for a long moment, then turned back to face Michael. He sighed and shook his head.

"Well, that kid inherited one thing from me," he said. "And that would be my attention span."

Scarlett laughed.

"He's a kid," she said, shrugging. "Kids don't often have much patience for anything."

"Yeah," Michael admitted. He shrugged again and turned around, happening to see Jack as the other man walked over to the raft.

"Wow," Jack said, smiling. "You're making a lot of progress."

He smiled at Scarlett, and she forced herself to smile back.

"Yeah, trying," Michael said in reply to Jack's statement.

"It's pretty cool," Jack said, looking it over with admiration in his gaze. Michael grinned and began to show it off, pointing out the various parts.

"Got this bamboo for the decking," he said. "How a piece of the fuselage for a cabin. Some storage bins…" He stepped off the raft and waked around to where Jack was standing. "What's up?"

"I thought I'd give you the heads-up," Jack said in a low voice, as if what he was about to tell Michael was something huge and important.

"Yeah?" Michael asked. Scarlett leaned forward slightly as she listened for what Jack would say. She was admittedly slightly nervous.

"Yeah, there's a lot of talk going on about who's going on this thing with you," Jack said quietly. Scarlett rolled her eyes behind his back and shook her head, continuing to tie up the sticks. How was that a big deal in the slightest? No shit people were going to want to go on the raft! Michael wasn't an idiot.

"Hey, man," Michael said, leaping back onto the boat and nearly stepping on Scarlett but fortunately missing her by a few inches. "It's not the Queen Mary. I only got room for four people. There's one open spot."

"Who took the other one?" Jack asked, looking extremely surprised and slightly annoyed.

"What's the matter, doc," came a familiar voice from behind Jack. Sawyer walked up, smiling smugly. "Feeling left out?"

"You're taking _Sawyer _with you?" Jack asked, looking extremely pissed off now. He shook his head.

"Yep," Sawyer said as if Jack wasn't making a futile attempt to insult him. "Bought myself a ticket on this little tub. Let me tell you…" He glanced at Michael. "The fare was steep."

Sawyer tossed a roll of cable to Michael. He caught it deftly.

"Could have used that cable to hold up the whole east wing of my new beach house," he said reluctantly.

"You sold him a spot?" Jack asked Michael, sounding almost disappointed in the other man. Scarlett felt like telling him to shut up and get over it, but she had a feeling that wouldn't go over too well. Besides, she was trying to be nicer to Jack. It wasn't his fault he was annoying. Not completely, anyway.

"I needed a halyard to the mast," Michael explained, as if anyone knew what he was talking about. Of course, Sawyer seemed to.

"Good thing I'm a saver, not a spender, huh, Doc?" he asked with a smirk.

"Great idea," Jack said sarcastically to Michael, glancing at Scarlett with a smirk as if he expected Scarlett to laugh with him. She just stared at him, wondering if he seriously thought he was funny.

Once Jack realized that none of the three castaways was on his side, nor were they remotely amused by what he was saying, he decided that it was a good time to make a hasty retreat. Excusing himself unintelligibly, he took off walking down the beach at a rather quick speed. Sawyer snorted under his breath as he watched the other man go.

"Would you look at that," he said. "The leader without his posse of loyal ass-kissers."

Michael chuckled slightly to himself.

"Yeah," he said. "I like the guy and all…but he really does seem to expect us all to kiss his feet for him."

"Mmhm," Sawyer agreed, nodding as he leaned against a tree and watched Jack bend down to talk to Sayid, who was sitting and looking out at the water. Sayid shook his head and said something to him, then returned to staring. Jack looked annoyed for a moment, then kept walking.

"Rejected," Scarlett said in a singsong voice. Michael and Sawyer both laughed, and Sawyer sat down on the ground, starting to help Michael. "So you're really going on the raft?"

"Sure thing, sweetcheeks," Sawyer said cheerily. "Soon as I heard Mike was getting this thing in the water, I signed up to help out so I could hitch a ride. The sooner I get off this godforsaken rock, the better."

Sawyer cast a dark look in the direction of Jack and Kate, who were chatting by the shore, which he thought no one saw. Scarlett saw and looked down at the ground before he could see her smirking at him.

"Who's the last spot going to?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"Not sure yet," Michael answered. "I'm trying not to think about it until we get it done."

"Which…looks to be soon," Scarlett said, looking at the raft admirably. "This is a sweet piece of work, Michael."

"She's a beauty," Sawyer agreed with a chuckle. Michael looked up at his handiwork and smiled slightly. Scarlett could see the sadness in his eyes; the longing to go home and raise his son the way a child was meant to be raised.

"She is," he said, and Scarlett didn't miss the wistfulness in his voice. "Oh, she is."


	58. In Translation Part 2

All righty! Here we go! I've crawled out of my hole of extreme sickness (I'm convinced it's the flu. My mother refuses to accept that fact) to update this. I figure a week is long enough, and here I am, sitting on the couch with nothing to do.

I had a momentary (an hour or so) lapse in my deadly illness yesterday so I got a shitload of writing done. I'm convinced it was either caused by 1.) my crush showing up randomly at my house last night at 6:30 when my parents weren't home and hugging me and being all sweet and whatnot, or 2.) the smell of axe phoenix pervading the house as my crush showed up randomly at my house and was hugging me and being all sweet and whatnot. So either way I felt wicked good for like an hour after he left, and I wrote like CRAZY. So now I'm like halfway through Numbers! YES!

Thanks to all my amazing reviewers! Please review again!

**JimmyP:** Hahaha yeah, its too bad about the raft, but at least she has something to do while they're building the new one. She seems to get bored a lot.  
Yay for DVDs! I haven't watched mine in a while, but they're still good to have, hahaha. Have you watched the bloopers? They're so funny, hahaha.  
I'll probably do another Scarlett-centric episode in season two, yeah. I just need to find a good place to do it and the flashbacks to have, etc.  
Hahaha, actually, in the chapter I'm posting today for Red Eye, poor Jimmy Paton gets killed. : it's unfortunate, but it needed to be done.  
I LOVE 24 soooo much! Omg it's my second favorite show, next to Lost!  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**…In Translation (2): **To Kill an Elephant

After helping out on the raft for a while, Scarlett found Sun, and the two of them worked in the garden for a bit before Kate found them and the three of them went back to Kate's shelter.

They sat in silence for a long while, not wanting to talk about anything that had happened that morning, but knowing that it was going to have to be talked about eventually. Kate was the one who broke the silence.

"Umm…Sun," she said quietly. "I wanted to talk to you about Jin."

"Jin?" Sun asked, sounding apprehensive, though she had to know what it was about.

"How much longer are you gonna let him treat you this way?"

"Please…" Sun started, looking pained.

"Sun," Kate said in a warning voice.

"He's my husband," Sun said painfully.

"Yeah, a husband you're afraid to tell you speak English," Kate said sarcastically. She sighed and tried to sound a little more understanding. "I'm trying to understand, Sun."

"So am I," Scarlett put in.

"He wasn't always like this," Sun said defensively. "She used to tell me how beautiful I looked to him. He was so tender. And then he was different."

Scarlett looked down at the ground, sighing. Sun sounded like how she used to sound when she would defend Stephen.

"What changed him?" Kate asked quietly.

Someone ran past the shelter before Sun could answer. Scarlett glanced after them. They were running down the beach, into the darkness. She frowned as Sun continued to think of the right words for the situation. A few more people ran past the shelter. Scarlett frowned and pulled the flap back, looking outside. Someone screamed.

"Get some water!" screamed a voice that sounded like Stephanie's.

"Need some help!" another man screamed.  
"Hey! Hey!" yelled another voice that sounded a bit like Eddie.

Scarlett exited the tent quickly, followed by Kate and then Sun. Charlie ran past them, and Kate stopped him.

"Hey, Charlie," she said, concerned. "What's going on?"

Charlie pointed into the darkness, where the screams were coming from.

"The raft!" Charlie yelled. "It's on fire! Look!"

Everyone looked over into the darkness and started running. Around the corner of a large mound of sand, they could see that Charlie was right. The raft was on fire.

"Oh my God," Scarlett gasped. The fire was raging nearly out of control, almost licking at the trees. The castaways were lined up in a ring around it, throwing sand and trying to put the fire out.

"Come on, everybody!" someone yelled. Scarlett ran forward before Kate could try to stop her, and she started throwing sand onto the boat, finding herself positioned between Hurley and Sawyer.

"No! No!" she heard Michael yelling as he ran up. He pushed in between Scarlett and Sawyer and started frantically throwing sand onto the fire. "No!" Suddenly, he stopped, and he turned to look at Sun with an unspoken accusation in his eyes. "Where is he?" he asked angrily. "Where the hell is he? Where is he?"

Sun started speaking frantically in Korean, looking confused.

"Where is he?" Michael interrupted.

"She doesn't understand you, man," Jack injected.

"Hey!" Michael said warningly to Jack before turning back to Sun. "Where is he?"

"Back off," Kate said dangerously, glaring at him.

"No!" Michael yelled. "Her husband did this, and she knows! You trying to protect him now? Is that it?"

"She was with me!" Kate retorted.

Suddenly, Walt ran towards the boat, starting to throw sand onto the flames alongside Sawyer.

"Walt!" Michael exclaimed, running after his son. "No, Walt!" He grabbed Walt and pulled him away from the flames. "Get back, get back."

"I was just…" Walt started, looking frantically towards the fames.

"No, no," Michael said. "It's done."

Sun looked around at the faces staring into the fire angrily, and then she turned and ran towards the caves.

"Sun, wait!" Kate yelled. She started to go after her, but Michael brushed past her, practically shoving her back.

"I'm gonna break his damn neck!" Michael growled steamily.

"No, Michael!" Kate exclaimed, as she and Jack teamed up to stop him from chasing after Sun.

"Michael, just take it easy, man," Jack said in what was probably supposed to be a calming tone. "We don't know that Jin did this."

"Are you serious?" Sawyer shouted.

"Sawyer, shut up!" Jack exclaimed. Scarlett resisted the urge to slap him across the face.

"Jack, come on," Charlie said, making a face. "We saw him on the beach this morning!"

"That doesn't mean that he torched the raft," Jack insisted.

"Yeah? Then who did, Jack?" Michael asked, glaring. Jack sighed and shook his head. It was clear that he wasn't sure who else could have or would have done it. Michael nodded.

"That's what I thought," he growled, and then he started walking towards the caves.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jack asked him.

"To find that sonofabitch and kick the shit out of him, that's where," Michael fumed. "He _lit _our _only _chance of getting off this island on _fire_, Jack."

"Maybe we should talk to him," Jack said, starting to sound a little desperate. "You know, find out if he really did it."

"Talk to him _how_?" Michael exclaimed. "The man doesn't speak any goddamned English!"

"Michael, we can't just _attack _him," Scarlett said slowly, though she really didn't want to say anything. The second she opened her mouth; she knew that all eyes would be on her, and she really wasn't all that fond of attention.

As she had expected, everyone turned their heads to look at her.

"He lit the raft on fire!" Michael exclaimed.

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do?" Scarlett asked, fighting the urge to lay down and try to hide from the countless eyes staring in her direction. "We're not savages, Michael. As much as things are different out here, there's one thing that hasn't changed, and that's our moral code. Our ethics, Michael, something you should be teaching your son." She gave him a look, and he glared at her silently. "We can't just go attacking a man, not even if he did light the raft on fire. And, honestly, we don't even know if he did that! Think about it, Michael, how must he feel right now? At least we can understand each other; he's got nothing. No link to connect him to us. You've gotta cut the man a little slack."

"Scarlett, you spent more time working on it than anyone else here, excluding me and Walt," Michael said dramatically. "You understand."

"I do understand," Scarlett replied in a small voice. "I'm just as angry as you are, Michael, but I remember what I've always been taught, and that's to treat everyone fairly, no exceptions." She glared at Michael, and he glared back. The ever-present eyes of the crowd watched them as their faces reflected the flames of the boat in the background.

"What are we gonna do, Mike?" Sawyer asked, looking ready to do just about anything.

"Let's find him," Michael said in a low voice. "Bring him back here. Try to talk to him a little."

Scarlett rolled her eyes in disgust. She knew as well as they did that Michael wasn't going to 'talk' to anybody.

"Just don't kill anyone, Michael," she spat, giving him a look filled with pure hate before turning on her heel and walking away, pushing through the crowd. A large number of people murmured their agreements and walked away as well, a silent protest against whatever Michael was planning. However, a large number of people still stood beside Michael, ready to do whatever it was that he wanted to do. It seemed that in the particular situation they were in, Michael had replaced Jack as supreme ruler of them all, and he was loving the attention.

* * *

_"Hey, Scarlett?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You seen my green tie?"_

_"The one with the stripes?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"It's in the bathroom. You put it there yesterday."_

_A pause. Some slamming doors and stomping feet. A triumphant 'aha'._

_"I got it!"_

_A few moments after the exalting cry pervaded the apartment, Kevin stepped out of the conjoined bedroom and bathroom and smiled at Scarlett, straightening his tie._

_"'What're your plans for tonight?" he asked casually as he buttoned up his suit jacket and made sure that he had everything he needed in his jacket pocket before he got started._

_"I don't know," Scarlett answered his question, running a hand through her hair tiredly as she stared down at the breakfast in front of her. "I think me and Amy were going to do something, though we never really figured out what it was going to be. Maybe a movie where the four of us could go together."_

_Kevin smiled and nodded. This was apparently a good idea in his book, though he seemed a little off about something, as if something had been bothering him and he had no idea how to get it off his mind. Scarlett didn't want to say anything, however, because she knew how she hated it when someone pretended to know what they were talking about regarding something that only she could know. _

_"I'll see you when you get home from work, and we can decide what we're going to do," Kevin said decisively. "All right?"_

_"All right," Scarlett answered absently, flipping through the front pages of the magazine tiredly. Kevin watched her for a moment before walking to the door and walking out, slamming it behind him. Scarlett glanced at the door briefly, annoyed that he had slammed the door in that manner. She had warned him what happened when the doors were slammed, and he knew that if her mother's precious vase fell off of the shelves, it was going to be the end of him.

* * *

_

George Orwell once published his retelling of the story of his shooting of an elephant while stationed in Burma. In this story, he admits that the only reason he shot the elephant was because of the large crowd of tribesmen behind him who were all cheering him on and urging him to kill it.

As Scarlett watched Michael from a distance, leading his troops into the trees to search for Jin, she reflected that he was doing exactly what George Orwell was doing. He had gone too far to back down, even though he knew that he was completely overreacting. Everyone was counting on him to find Jin and punish him for what he had done. They were cheering for him to shoot the elephant. It was just a question of whether or not he was going to give into the pressures of the crowd.

Scarlett smiled as she turned away from the sight of the crowd gathered around their angry leader, staring out at the ocean. She wished she had been able to make that analysis when she was in school. The English paper she had written on the elephant story had been anything but insightful.

"You're right, you know," came a voice out of the darkness. Scarlett turned and saw Locke standing there, his hands folded across his chest.

"About what?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"About what you said back there," Locke replied. "We're not savages."

"We're not," Scarlett agreed.

"It was a very good point to make," Locke said. "I'm just sorry that people chose to not listen to it."

"I've found that people tend to go for what they want to _watch_," Scarlett said bitterly. "Not for what is right and just."

"Too true," Locke said in a sad tone. "If only there were more people like you in this world, Scarlett."

"Oh, please," Scarlett said with a laugh. "If there were more people like me, I don't think the world would be able to handle itself."

"I think the world would be able to handle itself just fine," Locke replied with a chuckle. "I have to be off. But just remember, Scarlett, you were right all along."

He gave Scarlett a cryptic look and practically melted back into the darkness. Scarlett sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair. She thought on Locke's words for a moment. Of course she was glad she was right, and it was all well and good that she made her point, but she hated knowing that there were at least twenty people out there who thought she was wrong and who probably would have hit her if they had been given the chance. She hated being the center of any kind of attention, but being the center of negative attention was obviously quite rough.

"This feels familiar," said Boone, sitting beside her on the sand. He had a faraway look in his eye. "I believe you came and sat with me when I was upset about the whole water thing."

"Ah, yes, the water incident," Scarlett said with false nostalgia. "How long ago it seems."

"It really does seem like forever ago," Boone said with a sudden realization. "It seems like at least a year."

"Well, time flies when you're having fun?" Scarlett suggested hopefully. Boone laughed.

"Not quite," he remarked. "Nice try, though."

Scarlett grinned and turned back out to face the water. Boone sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a display of affection that she gladly accepted.

"I should have just let them go," Scarlett said bitterly. "I knew it wasn't going to make a difference, but I opened my mouth anyway."

"You were right, though," Boone insisted. "What you said about us being savages. I don't think people remember that no matter what the law is, or no matter how little law there is, we still have to act on what we know is right and wrong. I don't think they realize that yet. Hopefully they will before it's too late."

"Hopefully," Scarlett said dejectedly, looking out at the water again. Boone pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"Hey," he said to her, trying to sound encouraging. "Don't worry too much about it. You did what you could."

Scarlett nodded, not looking very convinced. Boone squeezed her tight against his side one more time before getting to his feet, dusting the sand off of his pants. Scarlett smiled up at him.

"I'll see you later," she said in a grateful tone, hoping that he knew she appreciated his attempts to make her feel better about herself, even if she didn't really take him all that seriously.

"Yeah," he said. "They want me to help stand guard on the camp, but I'll be back in a few hours."

Scarlett nodded, and he smiled at her before turning and walking away, whistling merrily to himself as he went. Scarlett watched him walk and felt a small smile growing on her face as she did so. He had changed so much in the short time that she had known him; both physically and mentally. Being on the island seemed to be doing him a world of good; though she had thought he was gorgeous when she first met him, the month or so on the island had turned him into a _god _of beauty. She had never before seen a more beautiful man in all her life.

As if he knew she was watching him, he turned around and glanced at her, smiling at her brightly. She smiled back and then turned to face the water once again, yawning. She was feeling pretty tired, and thought she might go lie down and try to sleep, even though she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep for a second, not with everything going on.

Nonetheless, she got to her feet shakily and walked up the beach away from where Boone had been walking, finding she and Boone's stuff and lying down in the sand, sighing with content as all of the aches seemed to go out of her body at once.

"Feels nice, don't it, Scarlett," said a voice to her left. She turned and saw the lady that had been flirting with Sawyer a few days before. Scarlett smiled at her, embarrassed that she didn't know the other woman's name.

"Yeah," she said. "It does. It's been a long day."

"It has," the woman said, nodding in agreement. "I want you to know that I really agree with you. About the whole fire thing."

"Thanks," Scarlett said sadly. "I just wish more people did."

"I think a lot of them _do _agree with you," the woman said quickly. "I just think they're so wrapped up in the whole frenzy of the thing that they don't want to see it, if that makes any sense."

"I guess it does," Scarlett agreed. The woman nodded.

"I don't think we've ever met before," she said. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Jillian."

"It's nice to meet you, Jillian," Scarlett said with a smile. "I can't believe it's been over a month and I still haven't met some people."

"I tended to hide in the background until recently," Jillian said with a laugh. "Watching people, getting to know which people I should approach first." She shrugged. "I'm shy."

"I know the feeling," Scarlett said with a laugh.

"You'd never know it from the way you act around camp," Jillian said decisively. "You seem to be friends with everyone. Which is why I decided that coming to talk to you probably wouldn't kill me, you know with the shy factor, considering you seem to be so nice."

Scarlett smiled, slightly touched.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm glad you chose me to talk to, you seem very nice yourself."

The two of them chuckled, and then Jillian smiled at Scarlett conspiratorially.

"By the way," she said. "I saw you with that Boone guy. What a catch!" The two women began to laugh even harder. "He's so gorgeous!" Jill said. "And he seems like a very nice guy! You're an extremely lucky woman."

"I am," Scarlett agreed, looking down at the ground with a smile on her face. "He's done so much for me…I appreciate having him so much."

Jillian looked sad for a moment, and she looked at Scarlett as if she knew all of Scarlett's secrets, her fears; as if she could go inside Scarlett's head and see what she was really thinking. Scarlett didn't like that feeling too much, but she let it pass, thinking that perhaps Jillian had been through a lot back in civilization, and Scarlett's own badly hidden sadness had reopened some wounds.

"I bet on you and Boone," Jillian said with a fond smile, suddenly snapping out of her reverie and focusing on Scarlett once again. She swept her long dirty blonde hair out of her eyes. "I considered the options very carefully when Sawyer approached me about it and decided that Boone seemed like the best match for you. I wasn't sure if you were going to pick him or not, but I thought you'd be crazy if you didn't. And then you did."

"What did you win?" Scarlett asked with a wry smile.

"A flashlight, a tube of sunscreen, and that stuff that keeps the bugs off," Jillian said. "It was a good win, I needed that."

"Yeah, that's good stuff to have," Scarlett said, shaking her head and chuckling. "I wish they'd have a bet on Kate, Jack, and Sawyer."

"Oh, it's Kate and Sawyer, no doubt," Jillian said, waving a hand. "I was talking to Sawyer the other day, and all he was talking about was Kate. Not all at once of course, but when I'd say something about mangos or something, he'd be like 'one time, me and Kate were eating mangos together'. Pointless stuff like that. It amused me, but I didn't want to say anything and have my head bitten off."

"That's probably best," Scarlett said with a laugh. "He doesn't take too kindly to friendly suggestions. I've tried many times to get the two of them to admit to it, but both of them deny it like the other is the plague."

"I've noticed," Jillian said with a laugh. "But they'll admit it eventually. They have to."

Scarlett nodded.

"Agreed," she said. "They will if I have to force them to."

Jillian laughed and then looked back at the trees reluctantly.

"Well," she said. "I should probably be getting to bed now."

"Yeah, me too," Scarlett agreed. Jillian smiled.

"Goodnight," she said. "I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed, smiling. "See you later."

"Bye," Jillian said, grinning and waving as she receded into the darkness of the trees. Scarlett draped a sandy blanket over herself and grabbed her pillow, trying to get comfortable on it before finally just lying it down flat on the sand and resting her head on top of it.

Her eyes roamed the sandy shores restlessly, looking for nothing in particular but wanting to just mindlessly watch something. She spotted Boone standing alone, his face illuminated by the fire he was watching. He was looking the other way, and Scarlett knew he wouldn't be able to see her in the shadows where she was lying. She watched him for a while, just enjoying the feeling of knowing he was out there, safe and alive. It was a peaceful moment, one that she wished could last a lot longer than it did. Not many peaceful moments were to be found on the island.

She didn't know how long she lay there, watching him. She didn't even notice that her eyes slid closed at one point, or that she was starting to drift off to sleep. She just slid gracefully into dreamland, Boone's image still in her mind.

* * *

_"Hello?" Scarlett called out into the dark forest. The trees in front of her stood silent and ominous. She frowned thoughtfully and turned to look back over her shoulder. At least fifty people were gathered on the beach in front of her. There were some from the crash, such as Sawyer and Boone and Shannon, and there were some from back home, such as Stephen and Carol and Anthony. They all stood in back of her, looking at her as if they were waiting for something._

_"What're you waiting for?" Michael called out in a taunting voice that didn't sound like it belonged to him. "Go find him. Go give him that chance."_

_For some unknown reason, his words inspired fire in her brain, and she defiantly turned her back on the group on the beach, walking towards the trees and then slipping between them. At once, the ever-present sound of the waves crashing on the beach disappeared, and she was alone in the silent jungle, looking around for any sign of Jin._

_"Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett turned around. Jin stood behind her, looking frightened._

_"Jin!" Scarlett exclaimed, heaving a sigh of relief. "There you are."_

_"They're looking for me, aren't they?" Jin asked sadly. Scarlett nodded, not quite remembering that Jin wasn't supposed to be able to speak English._

_"They're looking for you," she said. "But I'm here to give you a chance."_

_"A chance to what?" Jin asked. Scarlett opened her mouth to answer, and suddenly realized that she didn't know what she was supposed to give him a chance to do. She looked down at the ground, feeling as if she had failed him somehow._

_"I'm sorry," she said sadly. _

_"It's all right," Jin said, shrugging. "You did everything you could."_

_Scarlett looked up at him and saw that he was starting to fade. Literally in front of her eyes, he was starting to disappear._

_"Jin!" she exclaimed, but he just stared at her sadly with the look of someone who knows that they haven't got long to live._

_"Jin!" screamed out a voice from behind her. Scarlett turned to face Sun, who was standing behind her, her hands over her mouth as she began to sob. Jin faded into nothing, and Scarlett stood there helplessly as Sun fell to her knees and began to cry. "Why didn't you just give him a chance?" she asked accusingly. "Scarlett, why couldn't you just give him a chance?"_

_"I…" Scarlett stuttered, looking around as the castaways all came out of the woods surrounding her, looking at her as if she had done something wrong. "I'm sorry…I didn't know…"_

_"You realize what this means, don't you?" Michael asked, arching an eyebrow. "We're going to have to take _your _chance."_

_"My chance?" Scarlett asked. Michael nodded to Jeff and Eddie, and they vanished into the trees for a moment before returning with Boone. His hands were tied behind his back, and he was covered in blood. "What are you doing?"_

_"Kill him," Michael said, staring at Scarlett with malice in his gaze._

_"No!" Scarlett exclaimed, but it was too late. Eddie pulled out his gun._


	59. In Translation Part 3

Woooo, so here's the next chapter! 10 more reviews until I have 500! Can you believe that! That's so amazing to me, hahaha. Ahh, I'm so excited! Hahaha well…anywayyyy

I'm thinking of making a website for this story, because I made one for my other one. So…I might! That would be fun I think, hehe.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again! I'll love you forever!

**Remus Lupin: **hahaha I tried to update sooner…but It was school vacation, and I was out a lot! But I've worked some more on Numbers…unfortunately not a lot more…but oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP: **I'm glad you liked the raft speech, lol. I worked very hard on that! Haha, as I was writing the episode, I was thinking 'hmm...this reminds me of that story we had to read in English about the elephant…' so I just threw it in there! Hahahaha, the Maggie grace boom mic blooper is definitely my favorite too! The way Naveem like runs to her aid and she looks all dazed! Aaahahaha it's so perfect! Oh jeee, way to put me under pressure with the whole favorite episode thing! Hahaha. I hope I can do it well enough! Thanks for the review!

* * *

**…In Translation (3):**

Scarlett awoke with a gasp, jolting enough to wake Boone, who was lying beside her.

"Hey," he said quickly, putting his hand on her stomach to soothe her. "Don't worry. Just a dream."

"God, I hate dreams," Scarlett muttered, moving closer to Boone and snuggling against him, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt in her hands. Boone didn't question this behavior; he knew that many of Scarlett's dreams were probably about him. He just put an arm around her shoulder and held her, letting her cuddle up against him. Though it was already starting to get light, he had no intentions of going anywhere with Locke that day, considering they hadn't done anything but wander through the woods aimlessly for a few hours the day before. He was content to be with Scarlett, and he knew that she felt the same.

They lay there like that for several hours, neither of them sleeping, but neither of them talking either. They just listened to the sounds around them and enjoyed the feeling of being with one another. It was a very romantic few hours, and one of those times that they both wished could last forever.

However, all happy moments have to come to an end, and theirs did as well. It ended as Sawyer suddenly stormed past them with Jin staggering along in front of him. Jin's hands were bound, and Sawyer was leading him like he would a dog on a leash or a mule. Scarlett and Boone both immediately scrambled to their feet.

"Sawyer, what are you doing?" Scarlett asked, horrified as she jogged to keep up with him. He barely glanced at her.

"Just doing my community service hours, sox," he replied emotionlessly. "Mike asked me to catch the man, so I caught the man."

"You can't be serious!" Scarlett exclaimed. "Since when are you Mr. Law Enforcement?"

Sawyer didn't answer. He just shoved Jin into the sand, then bent down and cut the wires holding Jin's hands together. Jin looked around, looking as though he wasn't quite sure where he was.

"Michael!" Jack yelled from down the beach. Scarlett looked towards the sound to see Michael and Walt barreling down the beach towards them, with Jack close behind. "Take it easy!"

"I'll take it easy, all right," Michael said threateningly. Hurley was moving towards Michael as well.

"Hang on, man!" he exclaimed, panting. "You've got to slow down."

"I'll slow down all right," Michael said in the same tone as before. Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Hey, man!" Michael shouted to Jin. "You burned my raft?"

Fortunately for Jin, Hurley and Jack were able to intercept Michael before he got to Jin.

"Just calm down," Jack said, trying to sound soothing.

"Hey, step aside, man!" Michael yelled. Scarlett wasn't really sure who she was rooting for in this altercation. On one hand, Jack was annoying the shit out of her, but she definitely didn't want Michael to get a hold of Jin.

"Just calm down! Calm down," Jack said, still trying to sound soothing.

"You burned my raft?" Michael shouted over Jack. "Why'd you burn my raft, man?"

"Calm down and think about it for a minute," Jack cautioned, though Michael didn't even appear to notice it.

"Look at his hands, man!" he exclaimed accusatorily.

"Oh, bull_shit_," Scarlett scoffed.

"Back off, Jack," Sawyer said at the same instant. They glanced at each other, realizing that they were on opposing sides and not quite sure what to do about it.

"Sawyer, back off!" Jack yelled back.

"Jack, it's got nothing to do with you," Sawyer retorted.

"Shut it!" Jack shot back.

"Everyone's gotta chill out!" Hurley yelled looking like he was getting nervous.

"And stop acting like five year olds," Scarlett shouted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jin start to stand up. He looked around, disoriented and confused.

"Hey, man, he's getting up!" Michael yelled. "Hey! Hey!"

"Michael!" Scarlett yelled. "Stop it!"

"He burned my raft, man, he burned my raft!" Michael yelled. Scarlett was starting to get a little uneasy. Michael sounded absolutely crazy. Jin's eyes combed the beach and the people in front of him, and then his eyes rested on Sun, who was standing across the beach, watching him. For a while they just stared at each other. Then, Jin spoke to her in Korean.

For a long while, Sun didn't say anything. She just stared at him, as if not quite sure what to make of his words. Michael turned to look at sun.

"What'd he say?" he asked viciously. Jin said something again to Sun. Michael turned and looked at him. "You say something to me?" Michael asked, starting to advance towards Jin.

"Michael!" Jack and Scarlett yelled at the same instant, both of them trying to stop him.

"Huh?" Jin asked Sun, saying something else in his language.

"Say it again!" Michael yelled.

"Michael!" Jack exclaimed, looking frustrated.

"No, no, no, say it again, man!"

"Michael! Michael!" Jack yelled, trying to get Michael's attention, but the other man wasn't listening. Jin said something else. Jack turned to look at him, and Michael took the opportunity to push past him.

"Michael!" Jack yelled.

"Michael, stop!" Scarlett shouted. Boone put a hand on her arm, steadying her.

"Say it!" Michael yelled to Jin. Scarlett turned and looked at Sun pleadingly. Sun didn't catch her eye, but she took a step forward, looking pained. Jin yelled something in Korean to her. Michael's face screwed into an unpleasant scowl, and before anyone knew what was happening, Michael reached out and punched Jin in the face. Jin fell backwards, hitting the sand hard. Scarlett gasped and started to move forward, but Jack pushed past her, trying to reach Michael. Sawyer stopped him, and Jack pulled away, glaring at the southern man,

"Hey, easy doc!" Sawyer exclaimed, holding up his hands. "One fight at a time."

Sayid stepped forward, looking grave.

"He's right," the Arabic man said. "This is between them."

Scarlett agreed, though she personally thought Michael was being an idiot. Jack appeared to see that what Sayid was saying was right, because he stepped back, breathing heavily. Jin struggled to his feet and looked past Michael at Sun, who was watching him with wide eyes. He yelled something, and Michael punched him again, this time knocking him down even harder. Everyone just stood and stared at the scene in front of them, not really sure of what to make of it. Only Jack and Scarlett seemed to realize how barbaric it all was. For a long while, everyone just stared at Jin as he lay in the sand, obviously in a lot of pain. He looked at Sun and said something in a low voice. Michael took a few steps forward, getting read to strike once again.

"Stop it!"

The voice that shouted across the beach wasn't one that many people recognized. They all turned to look and saw Sun standing there, tears streaming down her face.

"Whoa," Boone breathed. Scarlett couldn't help a smile.

"It's about time," she murmured under her breath.

"Leave him alone!" Sun cried. Everyone just stared at her, not really sure what to think. Jin looked most surprised of all, and it didn't take verbal communication to see that he was slightly hurt as well. Sun stared at Michael. "He didn't burn your raft."

There was a long pause, and then Sun looked at Jin. He stared back, clearly not sure of what to think.

"You speak English?" Charlie asked suddenly.

"Didn't see that coming," Hurley said in an awed tone.

"You understood us all this time?" Jack asked, looking slightly pissed off that Sun hadn't rushed to tell him she spoke English at the first chance she got. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Scarlett stood there trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, However, Boone turned and looked at her. The look in his eyes told her that he knew she had known all along.

Sun ignored Jack, Charlie, and Hurley, and walked towards Michael purposefully, not looking at Jin.

"Your raft was already on fire when he arrived," she said shortly. "He burned his hands trying to put it out."

"Then why did he run?" Michael asked. Jack gave the other man a suspicious look. Scarlett could practically see the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in Jack's brain. He was starting to figure out that Michael had known about Sun, and he didn't seem too pleased about that.

Sun looked at Jin and spoke softly to him in Korean. He just stared at her, clearly not sure of what to think. Scarlett would have sympathized with him if she didn't know how he treated Sun.

Jin didn't answer whatever question Sun asked him. Sun looked at him helplessly. Michael scoffed at Jin's refusal to speak.

"Exactly," he said. "That's what I thought."

"My husband is many things," Sun said in a dark voice. "But he is not a liar."

"You're gonna lecture us about lying, Betty?" Sawyer asked, arching an eyebrow. "From the look on his face, even your old man here didn't know you speak English. How do we know she's not covering for him?"

"Because she isn't!" yelled out a voice suddenly. Everyone turned and looked to see that Locke was walking towards them. They waited for him to speak, knowing that whatever he was going to say, it was going to be good.

"Why would he burn the raft?" Locke asked simply.

"He's been after me since day one!" Michael exclaimed. "Everybody knows it!"

No, not everybody did know it. In fact, Scarlett was pretty certain that no one but Michael knew it; because clearly Jin didn't have a problem with Michael on day one.

"Okay, it's personal," Locke said, shrugging. "But why take it out on our best chance of getting off the island? Why would any one of us block an attempt to get home? We're so intent on pointing the finger at one another that we're ignoring the simple undeniable truth that the problem isn't here, it's there!" Locke pointed to the center of the island, into the darkened trees. Scarlett was reminded of her dream, and she shivered violently. Locke, however, wasn't done. "They've attacked us! Sabotaged us, abducted us, murdered us! Maybe it's time we stop blaming us and started worrying about _them_!" He started to turn and walk away, but turned back, looking determined to prove his point. "We're not the only people on this island, and we all know it!" he yelled, giving them all one more disappointed look before turning and walking into the jungle again. There was a long silence as everyone took in his words, then everyone turned back to the drama in front of them.

"He did not do it," Sun said, enunciating her words clearly. Michael turned around and left without a word, bringing Walt with him. Slowly, one by one or in groups of two or three, the group disbanded. Scarlett was one of the last to go, and she gave Sun a comforting look before she and Boone walked away up the beach. Boone draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close. She leaned into him, glancing back at Sun and Jin once. They stood staring at each other, alone in the sand, until Jin finally turned and walked away. Scarlett closed her eyes, surprised to feel tears leaking out of the corner. Before Boone could see, she stopped them, and turned to face the front again. She knew that Sun was going to have to make her own choices and that she couldn't help her. Sun had to do it by herself, and Scarlett knew that she would.

"You okay?" Boone asked her as they reached their stuff.

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling sadly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good," Boone said, smiling with relief. "Don't worry about it. They're going to be fine."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling. She really believed that they were going to be okay. All of them. Because at the moment, she felt like they couldn't be stopped. Oh, they could be tortured and battered and hurt, but they couldn't be stopped. She had never really felt the kind of determination that she was feeling at that moment, and she decided that she kind of liked it. "They will be."

Boone smiled at her, and she smiled back, and they lay down beside one another, closing their eyes and both of them deciding at the same instant that they weren't going to get up for a long while.

* * *

After a short nap and a while of just lying there with Boone, Scarlett walked over to where she saw Locke standing. He looked pissed off about something, but she decided that she wasn't going to let that bother her.

"Hey, John," she said casually. He glanced at her, seeming surprised that someone was talking to him.

"Hi, Scarlett," he said, nodding to her. "Where's Boone?"

Scarlett gestured back to her stuff, where Boone was lying with his shirt over his eyes, blocking out the sun as he napped.

"He's sleeping," she said, smiling. He looked so adorable, she just couldn't help it. "I just…I wanted to know something."

"Okay, shoot," Locke said, nodding to her.

"Do you really think the Others burned the raft?" Scarlett asked. There was a long pause while Locke thought to himself, apparently turning her question over in his mind. Scarlett hadn't thought he would take that long to think about it.

"I think everyone's too preoccupied with pointing the blame at each other, while there's a whole other threat to be worried about," he answered; typically not answering the question while pretending to. Scarlett just nodded and looked into the trees thoughtfully.

"Maybe," she said, sounding a little dazed. She turned back to look at Locke, her eyes slightly accusing. "Also…what were you talking about when you were saying that if I talked to Jack long enough about that person who was following me…"

"Oh, that," Locke said, chuckling and interrupting Scarlett before she could finish. "Don't worry about that anymore."

"Why not?" Scarlett asked, admittedly slightly annoyed. What right did he have to just tell her to stop worrying about something that could very well be a life or death situation.

"Because whoever was following you has stopped now," Locke replied. "Believe me. It's better if you just stopped worrying."

It was fortunate for Locke that Scarlett wasn't really in an argumentative mood, or she would have flipped out on him faster than he would have been able to react. As it was, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, but without even saying anything, she turned and walked back over to her stuff, looking decidedly unhappy about things. Locke watched her go with a smile, knowing that she'd be over it soon. Then, he turned and walked into the trees with a purpose in mind.

* * *

Everything seemed to be going back to normal, finally, Scarlett observed as she sat on her blanket pretending to read while everyone bustled all around her. After Claire's reappearance and Scott's death, things had gotten a little shaken up, but they seemed to slowly be returning to how they used to be. Sawyer was arguing with someone by the waterfront, and Charlie and Claire were watching with amused smiles on their faces. Kate was sitting and looking out at the ocean, a pensive frown on her face. Boone was patting Vincent and talking to Walt, who looked excited about something. Shannon and Sayid walked down the beach together, laughing to each other about some private joke.

Scarlett felt like an outsider looking in; like she was just a viewer in all this excitement and not really a part of it. Sitting there on her blanket, she got a perspective of what people might have seen them as if they were watching from elsewhere. And, for once, they looked almost happy. For the first time since the crash, there was a feeling of _home_ around camp; a real togetherness that Scarlett bet was brought on by the burning of the raft.

Scarlett smiled and continued reading, feeling lighter and more happy than she had in a while.

"Hey," said someone suddenly, plopping down beside her. Scarlett glanced up and smiled at Jillian, who was looking very happy about something.

"Hey," Scarlett said enthusiastically. "What's up?"

"I was bored and saw you sitting over here, so decided to come talk," Jillian said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Scarlett said, putting her book down. "I wasn't really reading anyway. Couldn't focus."

"Ah," Jillian said, laughing. "Yeah, I'd imagine it'd be hard to read with everything doing on."

"It is," Scarlett said with a laugh. Jillian glanced out at the ocean, and there was a comfortable pause. Then, Jillian turned to look at her.

"So," she said. "What did you do? You know, back there." She gestured vaguely out at the ocean.

"Well…it's kind of a long story," Scarlett said with an uncomfortable chuckle. "I was living in Australia for a year, where I was a waitress."

"You ever go to college?" Jillian asked. Scarlett shook her head.

"I never had the chance," she said. "Or the money."

Jillian nodded sadly.

"I know how that is," she said. "For a while it didn't look like I was going to be able to go to college either, but my dad pulled through." She rolled her eyes, leading Scarlett to believe that there was more to the story.

"Why, he wouldn't give you the money before?" she asked.

"He and my mom were never married," Jillian said. "And he was never really involved in my life. When they broke up, he didn't write or anything, but then I went looking for him. And he gave me money."

"That was actually pretty nice of him," Scarlett said. "My real dad…I never even knew who he was. He was a con man."

"No way," Jillian said incredulously.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "But apparently he loved my mother. At least, that's what they say."

"They, huh?" Jillian asked. Scarlett nodded.

"They," she said. "I never knew who 'they' were, but my foster mother, Carol, she would tell me that 'they' said he loved her."

"Sounds like a Romeo and Juliet type of deal," Jillian said sadly. Scarlett nodded.

"It was," she said. "A lot of messed up things happened to my mother. I'm just hoping that they never happen to me."

"I don't blame you," Jillian said sympathetically. "You seem to have a lot of problems yourself."

"Nothing I can _really _complain about," Scarlett said modestly. Jillian smiled sadly, and again Scarlett got the sense that Jillian could see inside of her and know exactly what she was talking about. While slightly creepy, it was also extremely comforting. It was good to have someone who understood her, at least a little bit. She wondered what Jillian had gone through in her past, but didn't want to ask. She knew how uncomfortable _she _got when people were asking her about what had happened.

"Looks like we've all had our share of problems on this island," Jillian said with a small chuckle, not really sounding all that amused.

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed.

"But seriously, like…_everyone_," Jillian said with a kind of curious urgency. "Have you noticed? Everyone has their own sad stories, their own messed up pasts. I don't think there's anyone here who doesn't have a load of baggage right now."

"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked, looking around at all the people gathered on the beach.

"Well…if you look," Jillian said thoughtfully. "Her. Kate. Look at her, look at how she acts, the way she behaves. You can tell that she's been through a lot, just by looking at her."

Scarlett nodded reluctantly. Kate _did _seem sad a lot. It was obvious she hadn't been very happy back home.

"I guess…" she said skeptically.

"And what about him?" Jillian asked, nodding in Sawyer's direction. "God only knows what went on with that man."

Scarlett nodded sadly. God knew, and so did Scarlett.

"Yeah, he's had a rough time," she said.

"And him," Jillian said, pointing at Sayid. "He was telling me the other day about how he had a woman that he was in love with, Nadya, I think her name was, and he used to torture people and stuff, and he had to torture her because she was on the opposing side or something."

Scarlett gazed at Sayid sadly as he watched the sunset.

"Poor guy," she murmured.

"Yeah," Jillian said. "And even the people you wouldn't notice. Like Hurley. Sometimes I catch him staring into the fire, and you can just _tell _from the look in his eyes that something happened to him. Something he obviously dwells on a lot today. And Charlie, too. Claire, even. Where's the father of her child? Obviously there's something wrong there."

Scarlett looked around at all the people on the beach and was filled with a fascination unlike anything she had ever felt before. All of those people were walking around, and any of them could have just as many secrets as she did. They could all be hiding something from everyone else that could change everyone's lives forever. Just the thought of it, just thinking that she didn't really _know _any of the people she had been living with for a month, the thought scared her. And it also made her feel slightly embarrassed. She had never really noticed that anyone else had problems; she had been too wrapped up in her own.

Looking down at the ground similarly, Jillian and Scarlett sat in a dreary silence that wasn't broken for a long time.

* * *

_"Hey," said Kevin's voice from the doorway. Scarlett looked up and smiled at him. He was standing in the doorway, looking nervous about something. _

_"Hey," she said. "Amy just called. She wants to know if we want to go out to dinner with her and Frank tonight."_

_"Scarlett…" Kevin said tiredly. "We need to talk."_

_Alarm bells started ringing in Scarlett's head as soon as he said that.  
"What do you mean?"_

_"About…us," Kevin said. He sat down on the bed beside her, taking a huge breath. "We've been going out for a while now, Scarlett. I get the impression that you don't really…you know, care about my feelings."_

_"Care about your _feelings_?" Scarlett asked incredulously. "You said you _wanted _us to be casual!"_

_"Well I started developing feelings!" Kevin exclaimed. "I started wanting to be a little less casual, but you were always firmly in the casual mindset."_

_"What about Rachel?" Scarlett asked. "I thought you wanted to take it slow because you weren't over her."_

_"_You _got me to be over her," Kevin said urgently. Scarlett suddenly felt guilty, even though she didn't think she had anything to feel guilty about. "Scarlett, I'm sorry, but I'm leaving."_

_Scarlett saw before her eyes her only chance at having a happy life packing up his things and walking out without so much as a goodbye. She thought maybe he expected her to stop him, but she found that she couldn't. She knew he deserved to have much better than what she could give him. She just watched him leave, and didn't say a word when he did. She felt like he _wanted _her to say something, like he didn't really want to leave her. But still she let him go. And when he left, she sat down on her bed and tried to gather the tears together so she could cry. But nothing would come, and she hung her head, feeling ashamed, as the sounds of his footsteps receding down the stairs echoed through the air.

* * *

_

Boone walked over to Scarlett, a smile on his handsome face.

"Hey, babe," he said, sitting beside her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "How you feeling?"

"Good," Scarlett said with a small smile for him. "You seem happy."

"I am!" Boone exclaimed. "I'm with you, aren't I?"

Scarlett smiled at the sweetness of his comment, even though she knew there had to be some other reason for his happiness. She didn't really care at the moment though; as long as he was happy, she was happy.

"Well, being with you makes me happy too," she said in a confidential tone, as if it were a secret.

"You don't say…" Boone said thoughtfully, gazing off into the distance as if pondering. Scarlett laughed, and he laughed as well, wrapping his arms around her and pushing her down into the sand. He positioned himself over her, his arms on either side of her body, and he smiled down at her. "Do you know how lucky I am?" he asked.

"How lucky are you?" Scarlett asked with a smile.

"First, my step-sister calls me from Australia," Boone said. "Because she needs some help. So I could have _not _gone to get her, but I did. So I went. Then, we got on a plane. The plane crashed. We could have died! But we didn't! We crashed on an island. And I met a beautiful girl there. I mean, how am I _not _the luckiest man in the world?"

"Is there another girl you're not telling me about?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow. Boone glared at her.

"Don't even start with the 'not pretty' thing," he said. "Because if you do, I may have to hand you over to Stephanie."

"You wouldn't!" Scarlett gasped.

"Oh, I would," Boone said with an attempt at threatening darkness. They both laughed, and then Boone stood up, reaching out for Scarlett's hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go to the caves and get some water. I feel like taking a walk."


	60. In Translation Part 4

Ugh…rkathalwthkaw. That's how I feel right now. I was going to update this on _Monday_, and then I discovered that I stupidly edited the chapters so that this one only had four pages. So I had to write 3 new pages just to get it to seven, which is still a pretty sad chapter length, and it took me 3 days because I have had sooooo much school work to do. It's insane!

UGH! BUT finally, it's here. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please review again!

**Remus Lupin:** Yeah, I definitely disagreed with Sayid too. But then again, I don't like Sayid very much, so I generally disagree with everything that man says. If I had been there, Michael would have been flat on his back in two seconds :D. Thanks for reviewing!

**Jimmy P**: Jillian's speech, I swear, just like came out of my fingers. I was in a drugged up mood and I was just writing my thoughts down and they came out like that. So I read it over and decided 'huh…that's not bad!' hahaha. But it's actually pretty true I guess. And soo agreed about Locke and the stalker problem, hahaha. Locke should be a little more concerned, buuut he's just not. And I think it's a little too late to wish you like un here, but I hope you did good! And when I got your review, I want you to know that I did indeed wish you luck! Haha thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**…In Translation (4): **Pyro

It was nearly dark when Boone and Scarlett reached the caves, and they both realized that it probably hadn't been a smart idea to take off for the caves when it was already sunset. Still, they found no need to turn back right away, and instead filled up their water slowly, taking their sweet time. Scarlett spotted Locke and excused herself from Boone, following him. He was walking towards Walt, who was playing something that Scarlett couldn't see from her angle. She was about to jump out of the trees and interrupt, but decided that she would stay and listen to what they were saying.

"Got yourself an opponent?" Locke asked Walt, clearly startling him.

"Hurley owes me eighty three thousand dollars," Walt replied. Locke laughed. "I told him I'd give him a chance to win it back."

Locke put down his backpack and sat down anyway across from the boy.

"It's been a while since you and I played," he said. "I don't have eighty three thousand dollars."

"That's okay," Walt said, shrugging. Locke reached down and petted Vincent, who was staring at Scarlett as if wondering why she was just standing there in the shadows. Scarlett honestly didn't know why she was doing it either.

"Where's your pop?" Locke asked.

"Down at the beach, I think," Walt replied, sounding like he honestly didn't care. "I'm not allowed to leave the caves after dark." He paused, barely. "Do you have a dad?"

"Everyone's got a dad," Locke answered. Scarlett smirked slightly.

"Is he cool?" Walt asked. Locke sighed, clearly upset about something though he still had a smile on his face.

"No," he said. "No, he's not."

Walt nodded wisely and rolled the dice, sensing that Locke didn't want to travel down the road in conversation where he was heading.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. Clearly, his roll had produced good results.

"Good for you," Locke said with a smile. Walt bent over the board, doing something with the pieces. Scarlett tried to see what he was doing but couldn't see from where she was standing. "Hey, you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure," Walt said nonchalantly.

"Why did you burn the raft, Walt?" Locke asked. Scarlett's jaw dropped open. She wasn't sure if Locke was just speculating, or if he had actual proof, but either way, it was amazingly shocking. Walt seemed to think so too, apparently, because he was silent for a long moment, looking down at his pieces. After a while, he looked up, though still he didn't say anything. "Don't worry," Locke assured him. "I'm not gonna tell. You must have had a really good reason."

Scarlett frowned. A really good reason? What reason could there be that he would have to burn their only chance at escape?

"I don't want to move anymore," Walt answered simply. "I've been moving places my whole life. I like it here."

Locke nodded as he looked around at everything. His eyes glanced right over Scarlett, who ducked behind a large rock just in time to avoid him seeing her.

"I like it here, too," he said, smiling. Walt smiled back, and then returned to finishing their game.

Scarlett walked around the rock and leaned her back against it, trying to process all of the information she had just unwillingly received.

She was a little annoyed about the fact that Walt had burned the raft because he hadn't wanted to move. That was certainly a pretty childish reason. Though, she reasoned, the boy _was _ten. He had a right to be childish. Still…she sighed and shook her head. She didn't really know what to do with that bit of information. Was she supposed to tell anyone?

Just as she came around the corner of the caves, where she saw Boone waiting for her, she decided that she wasn't going to tell anyone, not even him. She was going to pretend that she had never heard that conversation. Everyone was starting to get over it, nice and slowly. If they thought it was the Others, then why reopen that old wound and get the blame placed on an innocent ten year old? There was no point.

"There you are," Boone said as she walked up to him. He looked relieved. She felt bad that she had made him worry. "I was starting to wonder where you were."

"I just went to talk to Locke really quick," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I saw him walking over in that direction and went looking for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere."

"I swear that man just _evaporates_," Boone said with a small chuckle. "He doesn't _have _to walk places. I'll be standing by myself in the middle of the woods, and all of a sudden he'll be right behind me. Kinda creepy when I'm trying to go to the bathroom."

Scarlett laughed and sat down next to him, leaning into him as he automatically slipped an arm around her waist.

"He's been acting really weird lately," she murmured comfortably.

"Yeah," Boone agreed. "He's kind of out of it. Spacey, I guess, is a good word. He's been out of it a lot. Unfocused when I ask him questions…I think he's upset about running out of ideas on how to open that hatch. You can tell it's really starting to wear on him."

"Yeah?" Scarlett asked with a hint of sadness. "Poor guy."

"Yeah," Boone said reluctantly. "I just wish he'd give up on it, you know? There's nothing we can do…he should just stop. But he keeps on going."

"He's determined," Scarlett said in a slightly defensive tone. "He wants to see what's in there. I mean, who knows what's in there? It could be something that would help us a great amount."

"I know," Boone said quietly. "But we're out there _all day_, most of the time just sitting around while he tries to think of something to do. I just want to be back here." He smiled at her gently. "I want to be spending time with you."

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes.

"I want to be spending time with you too," she admitted, leaning closer into him. "I miss having you to talk to all day like we used to, before you started going out on all of these adventures."

"I know," Boone said sadly. "I'll talk to him about it. I'll see if maybe he can find someone else. Now that I have someone, it seems a little unfair to keep me out there for so many hours of the day."

"It does," Scarlett said with a small nod.

They sat there for a short while longer. They heard some leaves rustling on the other side of the caves, and moments later Eddie emerged.

"Hey, guys," he said with a cheerful smile. "What're you doing here at the caves so late?"

"We were just getting water," Boone answered.

"And now it's dark," Scarlett said with a sigh, laughing a little under her breath.

"Yeah, that's no fun," Eddie said with a laugh. "Good luck walking back in this!"

"Yeah, should be a fun time," Scarlett said. Boone nodded with a small chuckle.

"What do you say?" he asked her. "You want to start heading back."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Scarlett said. She didn't exactly relish the idea of going into the dark woods, but it was better sooner than later. There was still a small amount of light in the sky. If they walked fast and if they were lucky, it would lead the way their entire walk back to the beach.

"Talk to you guys later!" Eddie exclaimed with a wave. Scarlett and Boone returned the gesture, and then started off walking quickly into the trees, their arms around one another.

* * *

When they got back to the beach, it was completely dark. They meandered over to their stuff, and Boone got right down to starting a fire. He was becoming quite good at it; only moments later the fire caught and lit. Scarlett applauded him politely and smiled at him. He spread out their towels and the two of them sat down and stared into the fire, hypnotized by its beauty.

"You know, we've been lucky so far that it hasn't rained," Boone remarked, looking up at the sky and squinting. "I think we should start building a shelter as soon as Locke lets me stay here a lot more."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed, nodding. "I think so too. We need a shelter."

"We can start on it soon," Boone said with a smile. Scarlett grinned and leaned into him, smiling.

"We can," she said quietly. "And it'll be an amazing shelter."

"That it will be," Boone saidwith a quiet chuckle. "We should take a trip back to our little island paradise one of these days."

"Definitely!" Scarlett agreed quickly. "I miss that place."

"I do too," Boone said, smiling at her. "First place we kissed."

"Happiest moment of my life," Scarlett said in a sweet voice, leaning forward and kissing him again. Boone leaned forward and kissed her as well, and they got more and more into the kiss as it progressed. Boone leaned forward more and more, and finally Scarlett found herself lying on her back in the sand.

"Hey, guys, come on!" Hurley's voice exclaimed from somewhere in the darkness. "Just because you're doing each other, that doesn't mean you should rub it in!"

Boone and Scarlett both laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry, man," Boone called back.

"Yeah, whatever," came Hurley's muttered reply. Scarlett and Boone grinned at each other and settled back down comfortably, watching the fire dance in front of their eyes.

* * *

Later that night, Scarlett was curled up in Boone's arms, and she saw that Sawyer was walking along the beach, kicking at the sand moodily. He walked right past Kate, who stared after him for a moment and then stood up and walked after him. The two of them started talking, and eventually sat down on the sand, both of them looking glum about something. Scarlett watched them and smiled to herself, snuggling deeper into Boone's embrace. Though only a few hours before, she had been questioning everything about her newfound friends after she had heard Walt's confession to Locke, she was back to believing that crashing on the island was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She closed her eyes and listened to the gentle sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and the soft murmur of voices. It occurred to her that she didn't mind that things weren't always perfect. Sure, there were lots of bad things that happened to everyone, but in the end it seemed to work out for the better. Usually, anyway. And when things were at their best, things were good.

She smiled to herself and thought, at least for the moment, that there wasn't anywhere in the world she'd rather be. And then she forced herself to stop thinking, and she slowly drifted into slumber.

* * *

There was nothing much to do the next day except sit around and watch the waves. Everything had died down after the accusation of Jin, and people were content to just walk around and revel in the good weather. Locke had to put a damper on things by remarking offhand that it looked like it was going to rain later on that night, but most people chose to disregard his words.

Scarlett and Boone moved their stuff into Sawyer's tent, just in case, while Sawyer reminded them several times that he wouldn't have done it for anyone else. After Boone and Locked went off into the jungle, Scarlett turned to Sawyer.

"So, I see you never got Kate to call you sweet," she said, tilting her head to one side and standing with her hands on her hips. Sawyer groaned.

"I thought you'd forgotten about that, Sox."

"Nope," Scarlett answered, grinning. "So what happened?"

"I couldn't really get her alone," Sawyer replied, shrugging. "She was with Jackass a lot. When I had the opportunity, he walked up and told her he needed her help."

"Asshole," Scarlett growled under her breath. "He's like an overprotective boyfriend, except they're not even going out."

"I know," Sawyer said with a small mirthless chuckle. "Honestly, it wouldn't piss me off so bad if I didn't hate him so much."

Scarlett laughed.

"Amen," she agreed.

"I mean, the guy's really got it in for me, too," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. "I think making me feel like an idiot's turned into his favorite sport or something."

"Well, hey, next to golf, it's the only sport we got out there," Scarlett said with a laugh.

After a few more minutes of idle chatter and Jack-bashing, they said their goodbyes and moved off in separate directions; Scarlett looking for Sun and Sawyer probably looking for Kate, though he would never admit it.

Scarlett walked into the trees, feeling a little wary but moving that fear to the back of her mind. She walked for a while until she reached Sun's garden, not surprised when she saw the other woman bent down, working studiously. When she heard Scarlett approaching, she looked up, smiling sadly at her.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning," Scarlett replied, dropping her bag on the ground beside the garden. "How are you?"

"Better," Sun answered, looking around at her garden sadly, trying to conceal her emotions from her friend.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Scarlett said softly.

"Thank you," Sun replied. "I know you stood up for Jin. Thank you."

"I didn't think he did it," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "And I knew that even if he did do it, we couldn't just attack him. I don't think people understand that we're not savages. Not yet."

"I think we've become savages," Sun said thoughtfully, glancing at Scarlett. "I think some people are."

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a heavy sigh of resignation. "Some people are."

Sun smiled at her sadly, and Scarlett knelt beside her, helping her pack down the dirt around the plants that were really starting to grow big.

"How is Boone?" Sun asked, trying to make conversation.

"Boone's good," Scarlett answered. "He's with Locke again." She sighed and rolled her eyes, grinning. Sun chuckled slightly.

"Are you worried about him, out there?" she asked.

"Not really," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Locke will take care of him if anything happens."

Sun nodded. She looked through the trees wistfully.

"Jin hasn't spoken to me since it happened," she said sadly. "He left the caves. I do not know where he is now."

Scarlett recalled seeing Jin sitting by the water earlier in the day.

"He's fine," she said gently. "He was sitting by the water earlier."

Sun heaved a sigh of relief, putting the back of her hand to her forehead and squeezing her eyes closed.

"Thank God," she said. "I was so worried for him."

She shook her head and furiously resumed her work in the garden.

"I know," Scarlett said sadly. "But don't worry about him…maybe he just needs his time. I'm sure he'll be over it soon enough."

Sun nodded and bit her lip, looking down at the plants in the garden in front of her.

"I hope so," she said.

"How can he stay mad at you for long?" Scarlett asked, smiling gently. "You're his wife, and despite everything, he loves you. That much is clear."

She wasn't really sure if Jin loved Sun or not, but it certainly seemed like he did. She knew that no matter if it was true or not, it would do Sun good to hear from her that he did. It had always made her feel better when someone used to remark on how much Stephen loved her.

"Do you think so?" Sun asked, sounding unsure of herself.

"I do," Scarlett answered. "I just think he has a weird way of showing it. Maybe after he thinks about it for a while, he'll realize that it's not the best way. Maybe this is better for both of you."

Sun thought for a moment, then smiled.

"I think maybe you are right," she said softly. "We have lived like this for far too long, with my father controlling everything Jin did. Maybe if we take a short time to ourselves, he will be able to move on from that time."

Scarlett nodded sadly.

"Yeah," she said. "I think that sounds about right. Maybe you just need some time. And God knows we have plenty of time out here."

Sun laughed slightly and nodded in agreement.

"Yes," she agreed. "We certainly do have a lot of time. Perhaps that is best."

Scarlett smiled and they continued working on the garden in silence.

* * *

A while later, Walt appeared. For a few moments he just stood there, watching Sun work in the garden. Then, he sighed.

"I'm bored," he announced loudly. Scarlett smiled at him, though still slightly uneasy given what she had learned the night before about her young friend.

"You could help out here if you wanted," she said to him quietly.

"I wanted to come talk," Walt said, shrugging. He looked at Sun, and Scarlett could see the remorse written on his young, innocent face. She gazed sadly at him, realizing that he felt bad for what his burning of the raft had done to Sun and Jin's relationship. The fact that a ten year old could grasp such a concept was beyond her.

"You can talk," Scarlett said. Sun seemed to be shocked into silence. Scarlett wondered if she remembered that everyone knew she could speak English. "You know Sun, right?"

"I never really talked to her before," Walt said, shrugging. He looked at Sun apologetically. "Cus I didn't know you spoke English."

"I understand," Sun said with a gentle smile.

"I'm glad you do, though," Walt continued, sitting down and holding onto Vincent's leash tightly. "I always thought it must have been really hard for you and that other guy. 'Cus, you know, you couldn't understand anyone."

Scarlett smiled and packed down the dirt around the seeds she was planting.

"Yes, that would be very hard," Sun said thoughtfully. "My husband does not speak any English."

"At least he has you to tell him what everyone's saying," Walt said hopefully. Sun looked down at the ground sadly, and Scarlett looked at Walt, hinting with her eyes that it was probably a good idea to change the subject. Thankfully, he got the hint. "I feel bad for Vincent, too. He must be really bored out here."

"I'm sure he's having a great time," Scarlett said, rolling with the subject even though it was definitely not what she had in mind. "I mean, he's a dog! He's probably a lot happier here than he was back there. He's a lot more free now."

"Yeah," Walt said, nodding thoughtfully. "He does seem happy sometimes. He likes playing fetch."

"Dogs never get tired of it," Scarlett said, smiling.

"Walt?"

Michael's voice could be heard suddenly, calling through the trees.

"Coming!" Walt yelled in reply. He turned and looked at Scarlett and Sun. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you guys later."

Scarlett and Sun both smiled and said their goodbyes, and then Walt took off running through the trees, leading Vincent along behind him.

* * *

Scarlett spent the rest of the day with Sun, working on the garden and most of the time just sitting in a content silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts and memories. When the sun was just starting to set, Sun excused herself and said that there was something she needed to do. Scarlett let her go, not questioning her or asking her what it was exactly that she needed to do. She walked back to the beach and met up with Kate, the two of them finding a secluded spot by water where they could sit and look out at the waves like they always did.

As they sat there, Scarlett decided to watch the people rather than the waves. She was reminded of her first day on the island, when she sat on a log far apart form everyone else and watched everyone walking around, dealing with what had happened. She hadn't known anyone's name at that point, and she hadn't made any friends. It seemed like years ago, but it had only been a little more than a month. Scarlett sighed and wondered how they were ever supposed to make it if the time moved as slow as molasses.

As she watched, Charlie and Claire took a seat by the water, and Charlie handed Claire a little cup of tea. Hurley sat by the edge of the water, listening to his CD player. Walt and Vincent played fetch, while Michael and _Jin_, of all people, worked on the raft. As Scarlett watched, she saw Sun walk out of the trees, clad only in a bathing suit and a towel. As she stood there, she slowly let the towel out, letting it drift back towards the beach in the wind, reveling the feeling of the spray against her legs. Scarlett smiled slightly. Sun had never looked happier.

Turning back and talking to Kate, Scarlett felt a feeling of peace washing over the inhabitants of the island, and she found herself relaxed, almost. For the moment, all her fears were gone, and that was just the way she liked it.


	61. Numbers Part 1

Sorry the update was so slow! I've been having a horrible week…everything's just been really messed up. I won't go into details, but basically the week has sucked. But now I decided to crawl out of my hole and finally update this SOB.

In other news, it has been officially one year since I stared writing this story. It's kind of pathetic, hahaha, but I don't really care. I like writing it :

Thanks to all my amazing reviewers for making me feel better! Please review again! (And if you didn't before, feel free to start)

**JimmyP:** sweet, I'm glad my luck still helped, hahaha. Scarlett may or may not talk to Locke about the whole raft thing. We shall have to see :  
Hahaha, yeah me in a drugged up mood is always fun, especially because I can never concentrate on anything. But yeah, that speech actually turned outpretty good! Haha.  
Wow, that's a pretty freaky dream! Hahaha, though it would be nice to have a Lost dream like that. Would be slightly cool as well as very creepy! That would be cool if something like that happened on Lost, I agree!  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Numbers (1): **Hell Freezes Over

Scarlett headed over to the new raft as soon as Boone and Locke were gone a few mornings later. She had decided that the raft was a good thing to do when she was bored or frustrated. Which, normally, was the case.

"Hey," she said to Michael as she walked up, smiling and ready to work. "Need any help?"

"Sure!" Michael said enthusiastically. "Here, over here."

He directed Scarlett to helping Jin tie some bunches of sticks together. It felt slightly awkward, working with her friend's husband who currently wasn't speaking to her, but Jin seemed to be in a good mood, and soon Scarlett forgot all about her fears of awkwardness. Hurley meandered over to join them a little while later, and the four of them worked diligently together.

After a while of peaceful working, Jin said something to Hurley in Korean, holding out wire.

"Hold on a second, dude," Hurley said, exasperated. "You want what now?"

Jin dropped the wire and tried communicating with his hands, but it didn't seem to work. Hurley stared at him blankly.

"You want to make snowballs?" he asked after a moment. He turned to Michael for help. Michael was obviously trying quite hard not to laugh.

"He wants you to hold the bamboo tighter," he said. There was a short pause. "I think."

Hurley and Jin started working again, and Scarlett laughed as walked over to Michael, holding onto the bamboo that he was tying.

"You guys are kind of starting to understand each other, huh?" she asked.

"Kind of," Michael admitted. "Though for all I know, I could be completely wrong."

"I don't understand a word," Scarlett said with a laugh. "Sometimes I _think _I get what he's trying to say, and then I realize I'm off by _miles_. It's frustrating!"

"Yeah, but he's a good guy," Michael said absently. Scarlett smiled to herself as she thought about how Michael had absolutely _hated _Jin for the first month and however many days they had been on the island. How building things brought men together, Scarlett didn't know, but it was certainly effective.

Scarlett turned and noticed that Jack was walking over to them, looking all important and self-absorbed as usual. She rolled her eyes and kept working, pretending to be so acutely focused that she didn't notice him.

"Hey," Jack said. Scarlett nearly flinched.

"Hey," Michael said.

"How's it coming?" Jack asked.

"It's coming," Michael said with a small humorless laugh.

"As long as nobody sabotages this one as well, huh?"

"I got people standing guard twenty-four, seven," Michael said proudly. "Nobody gets near this with or without intent to burn." Jack nodded appreciatively. Michael continued. "Hey, listen. I was thinking…the chance of a passing ship spotting this raft out there is pretty slim. We could use something to send out a distress call to any ships that might be close. Like an S.O.S."

Jack paused for a moment.

"Okay, well, look," he said shortly. "I'll ask Sayid, but I mean, even if he can make something like that, he's not gonna have anything to power it with."

Scarlett was about to retort with something nasty, but Hurley beat her to it.

"Didn't Sayid say that crazy French chick had batteries?" he asked innocently. Everyone turned and looked at him, then Michael and Jack glanced at each other.

"It's worth a shot," Michael said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, nodding slowly. "Come on, let's ask Sayid."

"Hey, me too," Scarlett said, jumping off the raft and brushing her hands off. "It's break time."

Jack and Michael smiled at her, and she smiled back. She was really just interested to learn more about the mysterious French woman. She had heard people talking about her, but had never really heard the full story. Basically, she was dying to hear about her.

"Hey, you guys go ahead, then," Michael said. "I'll stay here and work on the raft."

Scarlett and Jack nodded, though Scarlett wasn't all that thrilled about spending time with Jack. She decided to suck it up. She had suffered through it before; she could suffer through it again.

The two of them walked towards Sayid's tent, and it wasn't long before Hurley joined them as well. Jack tried to get him to go back to the raft, but Hurley presented a very good argument pointing out that it was he who came up with the idea, so Jack eventually dropped it. They reached Sayid's tent a few moments later, and Hurley knocked on one of the posts, walking over to face him.

"Hey, man," he said slowly. He clearly wasn't sure how to say what he needed to say. Jack seemed to sense this and stepped forward.

"Michael was thinking," he started. "Because chances of a ship finding the raft are slim, it would be useful to have a distress signal of some kind, so the ships can find them and pick them up. Think you could make something like that?"

"If I had power, definitely," Sayid said reluctantly. "But all I have are a few half-gone double A batteries."

"Sweet," Hurley said. "You need them for anything?"

Everyone turned and looked at him questioningly.

"For _what_?" Jack asked. Hurley looked down at the ground, looking embarrassed.

"My CD player ran out a few days ago," he explained. Jack and Sayid ignored him and turned back to their conversation.

"Hurley was thinking," Jack continued. "That maybe we could ask the French woman for one of hers."

Sayid stared at them as if they were insane.

"Absolutely not," he said. He turned and walked back towards his tent.

"I'm not asking you to _go_," Jack said. "I'll do it."

"No," Sayid said shortly. "You won't."

"Dude," Hurley said, sounding a little frightened of the Iraqi man. "We're just trying to…"

"Do you really think that she would give up something she needs for survival to a total stranger?" Sayid asked, sounding relatively pissed off. Scarlett wondered why he was getting so defensive. He hadn't seemed all the fond of the French woman when he first arrived back at camp after spending time with her.

"All I'm asking is for you to tell me how to find her. That's it."

Hell officially froze over. Jack was being reasonable _and _wasn't being annoying. Scarlett started feeling a little dazed with the confusion.

"I was brought unconscious to her camp," Sayid explained. "When I escaped, I was disoriented. I don't know how to find her."

There was a short silence as Sayid looked at them smugly, and the rest of them looked back, extremely pissed off.

"Don't know, dude, or don't want to?" Hurley asked bitterly. Sayid scowled and took a step towards Hurley threateningly.

"Sayid, look," Jack said before Sayid could do some serious damage to the island's resident jokester. "You've got her maps and papers. Now, you thought that they were pointing to something."

"Well, I was wrong," Sayid said quickly.

"Well, maybe they're pointing to her."

Sayid grabbed the papers off of the table, his face flashing with annoyance.

"Look," he said, sounding pretty pissed off. "I don't even know what these papers mean!" He put the papers back down on the table. "For all I know, they could be the ravings of her disturbed mind! Song lyrics mixed with equations!" He handed a few papers to Hurley, one to Scarlett, and one to Jack. Scarlett looked at her map. It looked like a perfectly good island to her. "If this map is pointing to her, then you should know she resides here, in this area." He pointed to an area on the map he was showing Jack. Scarlett glanced at it. Hurley was staring at a piece of paper as if his life depended on it. "She gave it a name; Territoire Fonce. Shannon translated it. It means "Dark Territory." Does that sound like a place you'd like to visit?"

"So you won't help?" Jack asked, sounding pretty annoyed.

"I didn't say that," Sayid answered. "I'll build a distress beacon, but I suggest you find another power source."

"Where else are we supposed to find power?" Scarlett asked. Sayid looked at her, surprised. He apparently wasn't expecting her to side with Jack. He wasn't the only one. Scarlett was pretty surprised herself.

"There must be other sources of power on this island," Sayid insisted. "It's a big island."

"Yes, with many dangers," Jack pointed out. "Tell me, doesn't it seem less hazardous to go to a place that we already know exists, rather than to just go searching blindly into the forest for something we can use?"

"There must be something in the cockpit," Sayid said with determination.

"We're not going to the cockpit," Jack insisted. Sayid sighed.

"Jack, we can't just invade her home, her life."

"Maybe it would do her some good to have some contact with us," Jack said slowly. "You know, other people. She's been alone for sixteen years. Sixteen years is a long time."

"She doesn't need to be bothered," Sayid said quickly. Scarlett sighed.

"I don't understand why you don't want us to go find her," she said bitterly. "Is there some big secret about her that you don't want us to find out? Because honestly, you're acting like it."

"I just don't want to bother her," Sayid said quickly. "She's unhinged enough as it is. Who knows what our visit would do to her, and she probably wouldn't even give us the batteries!"

"Well we can always _try_," Scarlett pointed out. Sayid shook his head.

"No," he said. "We can't."

With that, he packed up his maps, grabbed the papers from Hurley, who jumped with surprise, and walked away, his backpack clutched in his hands. Jack sighed and turned to Scarlett, hands on his hips.

"Well," he said. "It was worth a try."

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "Seriously, though, did they like _do _each other out there or something? Because he's acting like it's this huge secret when really, it's totally _not_."

"I don't know," Jack said, laughing slightly. "We'd better go tell Michael."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. She turned to Hurley, who was staring at the ground as if shocked. "Come on, Hurley."

He looked up, looking surprised and confused. Scarlett shook her head, deciding that she wasn't going to ask any questions. People seemed to be pretty off. Sayid was flipping out over nothing, Hurley was staring off into space like some kind of drug addict, and Jack was actually being _nice_. She just hoped that when they got back to the raft, Michael wouldn't be dancing around it satanically, and Jin wouldn't be hopping up and down like a monkey.

Smiling to herself slightly at that mental image, she started walking back. Jack and Hurley followed her closely.

* * *

_Scarlett and Carrie sat together on the living room couch, drinking coffee and chatting idly._

_"So how's things with Carol?" Carrie asked. "Living together…is it hard?"_

_"Kind of," Scarlett admitted. "But me and Carol don't really get on each other's nerves. Like…ever. So I guess it's better than it could be. I know a lot of people who live together and just go off at each other all the time."_

_"Being in a closed space with someone all the time makes it a little harder to deal with everything," Carrie said, nodding. "That's why it's usually best to have your space."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett agreed. "But really, me and Carol are kind of freaky. I don't think we've had a really big fight yet, and we've been best friends _forever_."_

_"Some people are just lucky like that," Carrie said with a smile. "That's how me and your mother were…up until Mark of course."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding and smiling sadly. She hoped that Stephen didn't come between she and Carol like Mark had between her mother and Carrie. "I hope that doesn't happen to us."_

_"I doubt it will," Carrie said absently, sipping her coffee. "She was a lot more stubborn than you. Don't get me wrong, you're _nearly_ as stubborn as she was, sometimes, but I know you won't let anything like that happen. You're not as much like her as you'd think." She paused for a moment, thinking. "In fact, it would seem that you've inherited her good qualities, and not the bad."_

_She smiled at Scarlett, and Scarlett smiled back, though uncertainly. Something seemed wrong with Carrie. She decided to ask Dan about it later.

* * *

_

"What, he just flat out refused?" Michael asked, looking a bit taken aback. "You're kidding, right?"

"Unfortunately, no," Jack said with a heavy sigh.

"He seemed pretty pissed off that we even suggested it," Scarlett said with a sigh. Michael glanced down the beach where they could just see Sayid's tent. No one was in it. He sighed again.

"Great," he said. "Oh well, it was just a thought. I'm sure we could…"

He broke off and looked at the raft doubtfully.

"I'm sure a ship will find you," Scarlett said quickly. "I mean, you just have to gather enough food to last you a while. I'm sure someone will come upon you guys eventually."

"Yeah," Michael said, sounding doubtful. He shrugged and turned back to Jack. "I guess. We'll have to make due."

"Yeah," Jack said, sounding apologetic. "Sorry, man."

"No problem," Michael insisted with a heavy sigh, his tone implying that it was a big problem indeed. "Thanks anyway."

"Yeah," Jack said with sympathy that Scarlett was sure was false. He nodded goodbye to Michael, then to Scarlett, and then walked off, looking around for someone else to either bother or help.

"So did Jack basically make the whole situation worse?" Michael asked Scarlett with a laugh. Scarlett laughed as well.

"Actually, no," she said. "He was all right. I think in this argument I'd have to say he was being the most reasonable, and he actually made the most sense. But I think that's probably because Sayid just flat out refused to do anything, no matter what we suggested."

"What, does he not want anyone meeting her or something?" Michael asked, moving over towards the raft to continue working on it. Scarlett shrugged and followed him, and soon they had taken up their jobs once again.

"I don't know," she said. "Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me. Maybe he's like protective of her or something. Like a protective…captive." She laughed, and Michael laughed too.

"Yeah," he said. "Apparently." He sighed and shook his head. "Dammit, that would have been a really good thing to have, too."

"Yeah," Scarlett said reluctantly. "Though I'm sure…you know…"

"Yeah," Michael said quickly. "Yeah, we don't really _need _it."

Scarlett nodded, and they continued working in silence.

* * *

After a few hours, Scarlett decided that she was going to take a walk to the caves to talk to Claire. She hadn't been talking to the other woman much lately, and she wanted to reestablish their friendship and make it as tight as it had once been.

She found Claire at the caves by herself, writing in her diary. As Scarlett approached, however, Claire seemed to sense that she was coming, and she looked up, a broad smile already on her face.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Good," Scarlett answered, plopping down beside her friend and dropping her bag to the ground. "I thought I'd come by and talk…I haven't seen you in a while."

"I know!" Claire exclaimed. "You've been so busy on the raft. I've seen you a couple of times and I wasn't sure if I should go over or not, you know…"

"Oh, come over any time!" Scarlett said quickly. "I could use a break from all that masculinity, you know?"

Claire smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "I know what you mean. I've been spending a lot of time with Charlie." She looked down at the ground, and Scarlett detected a faint blush on her cheeks.

"I wouldn't really call Charlie a very _masculine _person," Scarlett said with a chuckle. Claire laughed as well.

"True, true," she said. "He's sweet. But, you know, I could use some female companionship now and then."

"Completely and one hundred percent in agreement," Scarlett said, sighing. "How've you been doing? You know, with the baby?"

"Good," Claire said, thankfully not noticing the way Scarlett was suddenly avoiding Claire's gaze. "He's been kicking a lot lately."

She smiled sadly down at her stomach, and Scarlett could suddenly see how nervous she was. She didn't blame her. The thought of having to go through childbirth on the island was a scary one. She couldn't imagine what it was like, knowing that any day it could just pop out, just like that. She suppressed a shudder.

"That's good," she said conversationally, surprisingly managing to sound at least somewhat normal. "Though probably hell when you're trying to sleep."

"Yeah," Claire said, laughing. "Though usually he's pretty good. He settles down right when I do."

Scarlett smiled slightly at the way Claire kept saying 'he'. She seemed pretty certain that the baby was going to be a boy. Scarlett wondered if she'd be able to eventually to tell if she was carrying a boy or a girl as well.

"Have you thought about any names yet?" Scarlett asked. Claire shrugged.

"Not too seriously," she said. "I mean…off and on, a little…but I haven't even remotely begun to decide on one yet." She shrugged again, glancing at Scarlett. "I feel like…I'll just _know_, when I look at him. You know?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, smiling. She liked that idea. Claire evidently did too, because she smiled and stared off into space thoughtfully. Scarlett found herself fervently hoping that Claire's childbirth could be as painless as possible.

"Charlie mentioned the other day that you had taken pictures from before I was taken," Claire said suddenly, snapping out of whatever reverie she had been in. "I'd like to see them sometime, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," Scarlett said with a laugh. She pulled her bag into her lap. "In fact, I have them right here." She pulled out the plastic Ziploc bag with the pictures inside, holding them up and smiling. Claire smiled with excitement, and the two girls turned towards one another excitedly. Claire took the pictures in her hands, gazing at the first one. It was the picture that Walt had taken of Scarlett and Joanna. As soon as Claire saw it, she got a sad expression on her face.

"This was her, wasn't it?" Claire asked. "The woman who drowned. Joanna."

"Yeah," Scarlett said sadly, looking at the picture with a fond expression. "She…she was pretty close with me, in the first few days. I mean, I didn't…you know, I didn't know her all that well, but we were pretty close."

"I wrote about her in my diary," Claire said, gesturing to the little book in front of her. "I wrote about how she was really sweet…it was like reading a novel. When I got to the part when she died, and I had no recollection of that ever happening, I was so surprised. I almost _cried_."

"It must have been hard, to read all those memories that you had written but couldn't even remember," Scarlett said sympathetically.

"It was," Claire said, nodding slightly. "But I'm starting to remember a little more, now. Not a lot…if someone tells me something that happened before I was taken, it usually sounds familiar, and I can sometimes picture it happening really well in my head."

"Good," Scarlett said. "You should just give it some time. It'll come back."

"Yeah, hopefully," Claire agreed. She looked down at the pictures once again, flipping the one of Joanna to the back and smiling as a picture of she, Scarlett, and Boone appeared. "When was this?"

"We were going through the personal items," Scarlett told her after leaning over to see the picture. "Seeing what belonged to who, you know?"

"Yeah," Claire said, smiling as she looked at it. "It's cute."

There was some sadness in her voice, and Scarlett smiled humorlessly.

"Yeah," she said. "It is."

Claire continued looking at the pictures, commenting on each one and asking Scarlett when they happened. It must have been weird for her, Scarlett reasoned, seeing her smiling face in the pictures. It must have been like looking at an entirely different person altogether.

They talked for a little while longer, and then it started to get dark. Scarlett said that she'd better get back to the beach, remembering the last time she tried to go by herself back to the beach in the dark. Claire mentioned that she was thinking of moving back to the beach soon anyway, a remark that cheered up Scarlett greatly.

When Scarlett got back to the beach, she saw Boone and Kate sitting by their stuff, talking. Kate saw Scarlett approaching first, and said something to Boone. He turned and smiled at Scarlett as she reached them.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as she sat down next to him. He kissed her on the cheek with a bright smile.

"Hey," she said back, smiling. "What's up?"

"Just talking about the raft," Kate said. "You've been working on it, Scarlett. Do you really think it's gonna hold up?"

"Definitely," Scarlett said with the utmost faith. "It's really strong. Michael's pretty good at the whole architecture thing."

"What if there's storms or something?" Kate asked, her brow furrowing thoughtfully.

"It's got the two big bunches of sticks on the bottom there," Scarlett said, gesturing to the raft, which they could just barely see down the beach. "That'll keep it afloat."

"Hopefully," Kate said. She still didn't seem too sure.

"Yeah, hopefully," Scarlett agreed, shrugging. "Don't worry. It's gonna be great."

"Who's got the last spot on it?" Kate asked, trying to look nonchalant, and not managing in the slightest.

"I don't know," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Michael offered it to me, but I didn't take it."

"Why not?" Kate asked, surprised.

"I'm not an ocean person," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I'm absolutely terrified of sharks. I really don't do good with the whole boat thing."

Boone smiled and drifted an arm across Scarlett's shoulders, obviously pleased that she wasn't planning on leaving him anytime soon.

"I wonder if they'll draw straws or…something," Kate said, chuckling slightly.

"Maybe," Scarlett said. "Though I think he'll probably give it to Jin. He's been working on it a lot lately."

This last bit of news seemed to surprise Kate. Apparently she hadn't noticed the Korean man doing any work.

"Wait…Jin?" she asked, sounding surprised. "After Michael attacked him and all that stuff…he's _helping_?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Don't ask me to explain it. He just showed up the day after the shit hit the fan and started helping out. We didn't really ask for an explanation; not that he could give us one if we wanted it."

"Yeah," Kate said, sounding a little dazed. She shook her head. "Sun's been really upset about this whole thing."

"I'd assume so," Scarlett said. "I haven't talked to her since it happened, but…" She shook her head. "I just feel bad for her. She obviously still loves him."

"Wait, wait, wait," Boone said suddenly, holding up a hand. "You guys both knew she spoke English all along?"

Kate and Scarlett looked at each other sheepishly.

"I found out I think a few weeks ago," Kate said. "Before the two of you got together."

"I found out when Shannon had her asthma attack," Scarlett said. "I heard her and Michael talking, and I went to go see who it was, and it was her."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Boone asked, not looking hurt, just curious.

"She told me not to tell anyone," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "I thought it'd be best to keep it a complete secret. She didn't want Jin to find out. Turns out it was probably a good thing; look at what's happened now."

"Yeah," Boone agreed. "Poor Sun."

Kate looked at Scarlett enviously. She knew that if Sawyer or Jack ever found out she knew Sun could speak English all along, they'd both be offended and they'd both take it personally, and they weren't even _together_. She shook her head. Men.

* * *

Later on that night, Scarlett and Boone sat by their fire, resting back against the sand tiredly. Scarlett thought about asking him about Shannon; it was nearly out of her mouth. Then she looked at Boone, at how happy he seemed, and she just couldn't do it. She couldn't risk it. She realized she was being slightly selfish, but she was the happiest she had ever been, even with the nagging fear in the back of her mind that Boone still loved Shannon. She could deal with the fact that he might not love her completely, because he made her feel like she had never felt before.

So she kept everything inside, and hoped that she would be able to deal with the pressure of holding it there. She laughed and joked with him and told stories and sang songs, and she pretended that everything was just fine. And if she pretended hard enough, she could almost convince herself that it was real.

Eventually, they settled down, and as she nuzzled into Boone's arms and closed her eyes with a slow smile spreading across her face like it did every night, she thought to herself that maybe it didn't _have _to be perfect. As long as they were both happy, who cared if he loved her or Shannon. He could love both of them at the same time.

As Scarlett drifted off to sleep, she tried to convince herself of that. But try as she might, she just couldn't believe it.

* * *

_Scarlett opened her eyes. There was blackness all around her. She felt a rocking motion beneath her, and heard the spray of the ocean. Suddenly, she heard voices yelling. She sat up and saw that she was sitting alone on the raft in the middle of the ocean. The voices drifted across the air towards her, and she turned to face their direction. She saw the beach, just in sight. The castaways were all yelling at her. _

_"Come back!" they yelled. "Come back!"_

_"How?" Scarlett asked, terrified. She didn't want to go into the ocean. _

_She looked down into the water, hoping to find an oar or something, and she saw that there was a face staring up at her. It was Joanna's face, but mottled and looking dead. She screamed and tried to back away, but Joanna's eyes flew open, and she reached out a gray hand to grab Scarlett's neck and pull her into the water. The people on the beach began to scream and scatter as Scarlett splashed into the dark, inky ocean and was pulled down into the depths.

* * *

_

When Scarlett awoke, it was light, and Boone was gone. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her neck and reaching for a water bottle before realizing that it was empty.

"Dammit," she swore under her breath, grabbing her bag and looking to see if there was another water bottle in there somewhere. There wasn't, so she struggled to her feet and started walking off towards the caves to fill it up.

"Hey," said a voice from behind her. She turned to face the speaker. It was Jack.

"Hey," she said in a much less cheerful tone. Jack didn't seem to notice, and if he did he probably just contributed Scarlett's grumpiness to the fact that she had just woken up.

"You going to the caves?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Out of water."

"I'm just heading back there myself," Jack said. "I'll go with you."

"Okay," Scarlett said, trying not to sound _too _reluctant. After all, he had been pretty nice the day before. Maybe he was turning over a new leaf?

As they walked along, Jack filled Scarlett in on all sorts of things that he thought she needed to know, like the fact that Locke and Boone had been bringing back fruit from God knew where on the island, so the fruit supply was back to normal. He also mentioned that someone had caught a bird the day before, and someone else had found a nest of eggs.

"Apparently we're getting a little creative with our diets," Scarlett said with a small chuckle.

"We are," Jack agreed. "Jin's catching more fish than ever, despite all his work on the raft."

"Good," Scarlett said, nodding. "So pretty much everything's running smoothly?"

"Pretty much," Jack said optimistically as they walked into the caves. Of course, Sayid had to walk up right at that moment, fuming. Scarlett had a feeling that 'smoothly' was almost over.

"Where is it?" Sayid asked accusingly. Jack glanced at Scarlett questioningly, then turned and looked at Sayid.

"Where's what?" he asked, shrugging.

"The map," Sayid said angrily. "I told you, it won't help you find her."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jack said. "Slow down." He shook his head slowly. "I don't have the map."

"What makes this worse is that you won't even do your own dirty work!" Sayid interjected. "You get Hurley to do it for you!"

"Wait a minute," Jack said slowly. "Hurley?"

"He was in my tent last night quizzing me about Rousseau, about numbers she wrote. How I came to find her." Sayid looked at Jack, realization on his features, then glanced at Scarlett. They both wore equally blank expressions. "You don't know anything about this, do you?"

Jack shook his head. Scarlett did the same. Jack saw Charlie walking by and glanced at him.

"Charlie," he said. "Have you seen Hurley?"

Charlie put down the logs he was carrying.

"Um…" he said thoughtfully. "A couple of hours ago. He was heading out for a walk. Acting like a loon, I might add."

Scarlett, Jack, and Sayid all looked at one another, realizing at the same moment what Hurley was doing.

"My God," Sayid murmured. "He's going after her."

"We have to stop him," Scarlett said. "He's going to get himself killed out there!"

"Agreed," Sayid said. "We should leave as soon as possible. We should be able to catch up to him. I don't think he'll be moving very fast."

Scarlett gave Sayid a warning glare, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I want to go too," she said, the words surprising herself.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" Jack started reluctantly, but Scarlett cut him off before he could really get the momentum going.

"Jack, stop," she said shortly. "I want to go and help get my friend back. If I don't, I'll just be sitting here doing nothing and worrying about…you guys." Total bullshit, but whatever. She'd be worried about Hurley; Jack and Sayid could take care of themselves. Besides, if she stayed at the camp, she'd be bored out of her mind. "I have just as much right to go as you do, Jack."

Sayid nodded.

"She's right," he said. "There's no harm in letting her come. She's proved useful before."

_I have_? Scarlett thought to herself, thinking back. She couldn't really remember when she had done anything useful. She had gone on the expedition to try and get a radio signal when they first crashed, yeah, but she hadn't really _done_ anything. And then she had gone with them to find Charlie and Claire, but they hadn't even _found _Claire. What the hell had she done that was so useful?

"Fine," Jack said, growling under his breath slightly in a way that pissed Scarlett off more than pretty much anything else he had said so far. "You can come."

He looked like he was going to say something else, then obviously decided better of it and stalked away.

"Where are you going?" Sayid asked.

"To tell Kate I'm leaving," Jack said. "I want her to take over while I'm gone."

"Take over what, his nagging position?" Scarlett asked under her breath bitterly. Sayid smiled and looked down at the ground, holding in a laugh.

"Apparently," he muttered. "Let us go to the beach and get some things for our trip. We don't know how long we are going to be gone."

"Yeah," Scarlett agreed, and then they walked down the path to the beach.


	62. Numbers Part 2

Sorry about the long wait. I've had a lot on my mind lately and this week has been SO busy.

There was a small amount of reviews this time! That's sad. But thanks to those who did review!

**JimmyP:** I'm glad you think I'm doing your favorite eppy proud! And I agree Maternity Leave was a really really good one; definitely best in season 2! Thanks for reviewing!

**Tasha:** I'm glad you reviewed for this chapter! Hahaha, I only got three reviews, sadly. Yep, Kevin was Thomas's 'mate', as they say. Connections! Haha. I'm glad I cheered you up with that line about Jin jumping up and down haha. About Stephen; you never know! I'm full of surprises :D. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Numbers (2):** Yet Another Adventure

About ten minutes later, Jack showed up down at the beach with Charlie, both of them with backpacks.

"You coming?" Scarlett asked Charlie happily. She liked Sayid and all, but it was good to have someone to talk towho was a more compatible with her.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I felt like I should, since it was partly my fault. I should have stopped him when he walked off like that, acting like a lunatic."

"It wasn't your fault," Scarlett said incredulously. She glanced at Jack accusingly, wondering if he had given Charlie some sort of guilt trip. It seemed like something Jack would do.

"Yeah, well, I gotta do this," Charlie said with determination.

"Where's Sayid?" Jack asked, completely ignoring everything Charlie was saying and looking around anxiously for the other man. "We need to get going if we want to get back here before dark."

"Yeah," Scarlett said in a tone that implied complete agreement but was laden with sarcasm beneath the surface. "Couldn't leave the loyal followers without their leader for too long. They might just self destruct or something."

If Jack heard her, he didn't let on. He just looked around until he spotted Sayid, who was standing with Shannon.

"Sayid!" Jack exclaimed. Sayid turned to face them, looking decidedly annoyed. "You ready?"

Sayid nodded and turned back to Shannon, his expression screaming 'fuck off' louder than any words. Scarlett smothered a chuckle. His hand reached up to Shannon's face, and he said something to her softly. Scarlett's eyes widened, and she felt an evil sort of happiness forming in her. Shannon and Sayid had actually hooked up; or so it appeared. Though she hadn't spoken to Shannon since she had decided to reveal their little family secret, she had a feeling that it would be a great time to start again, now that Scarlett didn't have sneaking suspicions that Shannon wanted to steal Boone back.

Jack started walking, and Scarlett and Charlie followed him sullenly. After a short while, Sayid jogged up to them and walked in front with Jack.

"I feel like we're some kind of messed up family," Scarlett remarked to Charlie as they walked a bit behind Jack and Sayid. "They're the parents and we're the kids."

"It does feel that way sometimes," Charlie said, sighing. "They treat us like bloody children."

"They do," Scarlett agreed. "Whatever. I think I should make it my mission to prove to them that I'm not a child, and they shouldn't treat me like one."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Charlie said, smiling. "They really need to learn."

"They do," Scarlett agreed sullenly. "I just don't know how to show them."

She and Charlie both laughed. Jack turned around.

"Come on, guys," he said in an exasperated voice. "Let's pick up the pace. We have to walk fast if we want to find him."

"Yes, mother," Charlie muttered under his breath.

"Actually, I think he would be the father," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "Because he's all…you know, bossy and trying to be in charge all the time. Sayid's nicer and more gentle."

"He ripped Sawyer's fingernails off!" Charlie exclaimed quietly, so Sayid wouldn't hear him.

"A bit of an exaggeration, but I'll admit that you make a valid point," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "How about they're just gay?"

Scarlett spoke the last part a little louder than she meant to, and Jack and Sayid turned around to face her, arching their eyebrows.

"As stimulating as this conversation appears to be," Jack started, shaking his head. "Come on, guys. You wanted to come."

"It's not like we're falling behind," Scarlett snapped. "Any closer and I'd be touching you in places I'd rather not."

Jack arched an eyebrow and turned to Sayid, exchanging a glance with the other man.

"Just try to keep up," he said after a long pause, turning back around to the front.

"So far so good," Scarlett remarked to Charlie, just loud enough so she knew Jack would hear. He didn't show any sign of it, but she knew by the annoyed set of his shoulders that he had heard her. She smiled to herself and continued walking, feeling considerably more cheery than she had felt before.

* * *

They walked on for a while in silence. Every so often Jack would ask Sayid if he was sure they were going the right way. Sayid would reply that it was obvious they were going the right way because Hurley's footprints were clearly in the sand in plain view. Jack would shut up and look annoyed and then a few minutes later would ask the exact same question. Scarlett wondered if the heat was getting to him or something, because he was seriously starting to sound like a complete idiot; and though Jack was annoying as hell and sometimes pretty lacking in the common sense area, she knew there was no way he was _that _stupid.

After about four or five instances, Scarlett finally snapped.

"We're going the right way!" she exclaimed just after Jack had asked Sayid the fateful question. "We've _been _going the right way since before the first time you asked!"

Jack looked at Scarlett, his expression one of surprise. Scarlett stared right back.

"I just wanted to make sure," Jack said defensively.

"Eight times? Seriously, Jack, lay off," Scarlett snapped, feeling wicked bitchy but deciding that he was just going to have to live with it. He looked at her with surprise again, and then kept walking. Scarlett smiled grimly to herself.

"Nice," Charlie muttered to her. "I was about to strangle him."

"Yeah, me too," Scarlett muttered back. "I figured being verbal was better than killing him."

"Wise choice," Charlie said.

"Thanks," Scarlett replied. They walked on in silence for a small while longer, and then they heard movement through the trees. Sayid held up a hand, putting a finger to his lips at the same moment. Everyone froze. They heard something moving through the undergrowth. Judging by the lumbering pace and the heavy amount of rustling, it was either Hurley or a polar bear. Scarlett almost laughed aloud at the realization that it really could have been either one.

Sayid motioned for everyone to stay behind him, and he crept forward. Jack, naturally, decided that the motion meant that everyone _except_ Jack stay behind Sayid, and he walked alongside the Arabic man, making considerably more noise. Scarlett and Charlie looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Don't move!" Sayid suddenly shouted. Scarlett stopped rolling her eyes suddenly, as did Charlie, before they saw that he was speaking to Hurley, who was standing awkwardly in front of them. Hurley turned and looked at them, his face registering surprise.

"Hey, what are you guys…?" he started, but Sayid didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Hurley, do not move," he said urgently. "You're standing on a pressure trigger. If you take your weight off it, it will release that."

Sayid pointed to the trees in front of Hurley, and Scarlett and Charlie both leaned to the side to get a better view. Both winced identically when they saw the large clump of pointed tree branches that was hanging there.

"Oh, man," Hurley muttered, looking almost sick.

"We need to find something to replace his weight on the trigger," Sayid said in his calculating voice that he seemed to often slip into in situations like the one they were presently in.

"Replace his weight?" Charlie asked incredulously. "How are we going to do that?"

"Hey!" Hurley exclaimed, offended.

"Charlie!" Scarlett chided, glaring at him.

"Don't move!" Sayid reminded Hurley sharply.

"Sorry," Charlie muttered to Scarlett.

"Everybody, just calm down," Jack said, though it didn't seem that anything was really getting all that heated.

"Can I drop the wire?" Hurley asked. Scarlett noticed that he was holding onto something in his hands. It was a wire that lead both ways; out of the jungle and deeper into it.

"Maybe I can find a rock or something…" Charlie said thoughtfully, looking around on the ground for one.

"Yes, a big one," Sayid said, still calculating.

"I'm dropping the wire," Hurley said, sounding annoyed.

"Hurley, no!" Jack yelled, just as Hurley dropped the cord in his hands. Hurley squeezed his eyes closed immediately, a look of extreme annoyance on his face. The wire hit the ground by Hurley's feet; Scarlett saw that he was standing on a metal plate, which must have been the pressure trigger.

Everyone froze, sucking in large amounts of breath. There was a long, terrifying pause, and then everyone let out equal sighs of relief. Nothing had happened.

"Thank God," Scarlett muttered. Jack glared at her as if it were somehow her fault.

Scarlett turned to look at Hurley, who was looking up at the spikes, a dangerous expression on his face.

"I can make it," he said decisively.

"Hurley, don't move!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, Hurley!" Scarlett yelled at the same time.

"No!" Charlie threw in.

"I can get out of the way," Hurley said. "I'm spry."

"Hey!" Charlie yelled, horrified.

"Hurley, stay put!" Jack yelled.

"Hey! No, wait!" Charlie said.

"Hurley, don't!" Scarlett screamed.

"Hurley! Hurley! Don't even…" Jack yelled

"No, wait!" Charlie shouted.

"Hurley!" Scarlett yelled.

Despite their constant protest, Hurley dove to the side, and the trigger was let up. The clump of spikes flew past Scarlett's line of vision, and it wasn't until the ball had swung past that she saw that Hurley had actually managed to land harmlessly on the other side of it. Sayid and Charlie, who were standing a little too close, jumped out of the way as the spikes swung past them.

"Hurley!" Charlie yelled. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

Jack reached out and stopped the spikes from swinging, sighing heavily.

"Nothing," Hurley said innocently.

"What are you doing out here, man?" Jack asked.

Hurley looked around at everyone, who was staring at him with varying degrees of annoyance and incredulity.

"I came to get a battery," he said decisively. Scarlett looked at him suspiciously, and obviously Jack noticed the same thing.

"Hurley, seriously, what's going on?" he asked in a tone that said he didn't believe a word.

"Nada," Hurley said with complete seriousness. He looked over at Scarlett, Charlie, and Sayid. "You guys coming?"

Charlie and Scarlett both looked at Sayid for answers. He was looking at Hurley suspiciously.

"You all want to go?" Sayid asked, annoyed. "Fine. But perhaps I should take the lead."

Sayid started to walk forward, grabbing the wire from the ground and starting to walk into the jungle.

"Excellent notion," Charlie said, following Sayid. Scarlett followed soon after him, and she heard the leaves crunching behind her as Jack and Hurley followed. After a moment, Jack overtook her, and passed Charlie as well before settling to walking only a little in front of Sayid. Scarlett turned over her shoulder and looked at Hurley.

"Hey," she said to him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Hurley said quickly, shrugging. "Nothing wrong."

He sounded very suspicious. He was a horrible liar.

"Are you sure?" Scarlett asked, arching an eyebrow. "Because you're not acting okay."

"I'm good, really," Hurley replied, and it sounded a little more convincing, though not much more.

"All right," Scarlett said, shrugging and giving up. "Whatever you say. Jack's pretty pissed."

"Yeah, I know," Hurley said, sighing heavily. "But I…I wanted to get the battery."

"I know," Scarlett said, trying to sound comforting. "I'm sure Michael will appreciate it if we get one."

"He'd better," Hurley muttered darkly. He sighed again, and Scarlett thought it would be better to stop talking to him about it. They walked on in silence.

* * *

_Scarlett cornered Dan in the kitchen when Carrie went upstairs to tuck Nattie in. Dan was doing the dishes, and had his back to Scarlett as she walked in. She knew, however, that he'd be able to sense her as soon as she walked in. _

_"I thought you had left," he said without turning. She smiled at his predictability, and she walked over to him, leaning against the counter. _

_"I just wanted to ask you something," she said quietly. "Is there something wrong with Carrie? Because she seemed really off today."_

_Dan sighed and finally turned his head to the side to look at Scarlett. She was immediately worried, seeing that his face was tired and he looked at least ten years older in that moment. _

_"We don't know what's wrong with her," he said. "She's been feeling horrible all week. She doesn't complain about it, of course. She never complains about it…but you can just tell. I convinced her to take some tests, so we went in the other day. We haven't gotten anything back yet."_

_"What kind of tests?" Scarlett asked, biting her lip worriedly._

_"Just tests to see if she's all right," Dan said vaguely. A flicker of annoyance crossed Scarlett's face, but she made it disappear. She knew he was hiding stuff from her because he thought it was best for her. Though she personally didn't agree with his assessment, she decided to let it go. When he wanted to tell her, he would. _

_"Maybe she just has a cold or…something," Scarlett said hopefully. Dan smiled at her, and the dark moment passed. He was back to his lighthearted, smiling self._

_"Yeah," he said. "I'm sure that's all. We were just being careful."_

_He smiled, but Scarlett saw the truth in his eyes. He didn't think it was just a cold. She just wished she knew what he thought it was.

* * *

_

Boone and Locke walked back into camp after a few hours of trying and failing to open the hatch. While Locke went into the trees to where his stuff was, Boone wandered over to the raft to try and find Scarlett.

"Hey, Michael," he said, looking around. Only Michael and Jin were working; Scarlett was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, man," Michael said. "What can I do for you?"

"You seen Scarlett?" Boone asked, his brow furrowing.

"She didn't show up today," Michael said, shrugging. He grinned at Boone. "Not gonna be able to pay her her salary. You see her, you make sure you tell her that."

"Yeah," Boone said, laughing and shaking his head. "I'll tell her."

He walked away from the raft, a puzzled frown on his face. For the past days, she had practically _lived_ at the raft. He didn't even know where else to look for her.

Fortunately, as he was walking along the beach looking puzzled, he came across Claire, who was sitting under a tree, looking bored.

"Claire!" he exclaimed. She looked up, smiling at him.

"Hey, Boone," she said in her soft accent.

"Hey," Boone said. "I was looking for Scarlett. Have you seen her?"

"Not today, no," Claire said, shrugging. "I went looking for her at the raft, but they haven't seen her."

"Yeah, I know," Boone said, frowning and running a hand through his hair. He was starting to get worried, but he kept that hidden so that Claire wouldn't notice. "Thanks anyway."

"No problem," Claire said, smiling. He could see the worry in her eyes as well.

Walking down the beach a little further, Boone looked at everyone carefully, thinking maybe she had fallen asleep in some random place like she often seemed to do. He was just about to go looking for Locke, since Locke would undoubtedly know where she was, considering he knew where _everyone_ was during the course of the day, when he happened to glance over at Sawyer's shelter. He saw Shannon standing outside, talking to the southern man with her hands on her hips and an angry scowl on her face. He sighed. He didn't really _want _to ask her where Scarlett was, but he figured his stepsister would probably know. She seemed to be the gossip queen of the island. Shocker.

He walked over, dragging his feet in the sand and sighing. Sawyer walked off just as he was about to get near, leaving Shannon standing by herself and looking infuriated.

"Hey, Shan?" he said questioningly to get her attention. She looked over at him with surprise.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Have you seen Scarlett? I can't seem to find her anywhere."

Shannon looked bitterly disappointed, but at the moment, he didn't really care.

"She went off with Sayid and Jack and Charlie to look for Hurley," she said in a sour voice. "He took off this morning looking for the French chick or…something."

"Wait, so she went with them?" Boone asked incredulously. "Like, they actually let her go?"

"Yeah, I was a little surprised at that too," Shannon said, shaking her head. "But yeah, she's with them, so don't worry or anything."

"Okay," Boone said, nodding. "Thanks."

Shannon looked like she was going to say something, but Boone just walked away before she could. He was proud of himself for doing it. He was learning to better resist Shannon, and he couldn't be happier.

However, he was quite disappointed in the fact that Scarlett wasn't there. He hadn't really noticed how much his amusement on the island depended on Scarlett. Once she wasn't there, he didn't really know what to do.

He was walking along the beach aimlessly when Sawyer walked up to him.

"Hey, Eyebrows," he said in a friendly voice. "You look like you just got hit by a truck. What's up?"

"Thanks, Sawyer," Boone said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just…bored, I guess."

"Bored," Sawyer said with a huff of a laugh. "Now you know how _I _feel, kid. There ain't nothin' much to do 'round here but improve my reading skills or sleep."

"Well I've had Scarlett," Boone pointed out. "But she's with Sayid and Jack and Charlie…"

"Out with three other men in the woods. Well now, that little woman's certainly got her hands full, hasn't she?'

"Don't start," Boone said warningly, though the seeds of doubt had already been planted. That wasn't Sawyer's intention in the slightest, of course, but Boone was suddenly terrified. What if Sawyer was right? What if Scarlett really was out there for reasons other than looking for Hurley? Maybe she was tired of waiting for Boone to come back from the jungle all the time. Maybe she wanted someone who was always there for her.

"Hey, don't go gettin' all worried about it, Metro," Sawyer said, putting his hands up as if in surrender. "The gal's got it in for you and only for you. I was just joking."

"I know," Boone muttered under his breath. Sawyer sighed; it was quite obvious that Boone indeed did _not _know.

"All right, all right," he said soothingly. "Come on, into the tent. Do we need to have a therapy session or something?"

"No," Boone said, finally laughing. "I was just…thinking."

"Uh-huh, right," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. "Goddamn, boy. Open your _eyes_. The girl's head over heels! Don't go getting all insecure, cus if there's one thing a woman gets tired of next to a cocky bastard, it's an insecure little boy."

Boone looked hurt.

"Really?" he asked weakly.

"I think," Sawyer said, shrugging. "Hell, I don't know. I ain't had to worry about the insecure shit."

Boone shook his head. Sawyer wasn't helping.

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes. "Well when I figure out where the advice is in that comment, I'll thank you for it."

Sawyer chuckled to himself and looked out to the ocean.

"I hope you know how lucky you are," he said in a quiet voice. "Scarlett's a beautiful, amazing woman. I hope you know that."

"Of course I know that," Boone said incredulously. "Are you kidding?"

"Just checking, just checking," Sawyer said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm just sayin', that's all. There's some people on this island who just don't appreciate what it is that they have."

Boone had a feeling that Sawyer was talking about Jack and Kate. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"You know how much the girl cares about you, don't ya?" Sawyer asked. "She cares about you a hell of a lot more than she lets on. You can see it in her eyes when she looks at you. I know that sounds a tad bit corny, but it's true."

"Thanks, Sawyer," Boone said with a heavy sigh of resignation. "I'll talk to you later."

It was clear to Sawyer that Boone didn't believe that Scarlett cared about him all that much, but he didn't know exactly what he could say to make the boy believe otherwise. With a heavy sigh, Boone turned and walked away, back towards the trees. Sawyer sighed as well and walked back to his shelter after making sure that Shannon was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Scarlett was walking ahead with Sayid when they reached the end of the cable. Sayid sighed.

"It stops here," he said to Jack, who was hanging over his shoulder like an overprotective parent. Sayid pushed a few leaves aside and determined that the cable did indeed stop where they were standing. "This poses somewhat of a problem."

Scarlett and Jack were thoughtfully silent, glancing at each other and shrugging. Neither of them had any idea of what to do.

"Guys!" Charlie yelled suddenly. "You should come see this!"

Scarlett, Jack, Sayid, and Hurley turned to look at Charlie, who was standing off to the side a little bit. After glancing at each other with some annoyance, they all started over to where Charlie was standing, balancing on a large stump. Sayid was first, and Scarlett saw him jolt a little with surprise as he saw whatever it was that Charlie was looking at. Hurley was next. He saw whatever it was as well.

"Whoa," he murmured. Jack and Scarlett followed, and finally saw what had surprised everyone else. There was a long wood and rope bridge hanging over the ravine below. It was clearly a very old bridge, and didn't exactly look like it was very safe.

"You never mentioned anything about a bridge," Jack remarked, looking slightly annoyed.

"I never saw this before," Sayid said in a dazed voice.

"There's no way she could have built this all by herself," Jack said, shaking his head. Scarlett made a noise of agreement.

"No, but her team could have," Sayid said pointedly.

"Or Ethan's team," Charlie pointed out. Scarlett made a face.

Suddenly, there was a low creaking noise. Everyone turned and stared at Hurley, who was just stepping onto the bridge.

"Hurley!" Jack exclaimed, horrified. "What are you doing?"

"Relax," Hurley said, waving his hand as if it was no big deal. "I'm just going to check it out. You guys should stay here."

"Hurley, get back here!" Jack yelled.

"Dudes, chill!" Hurley said in reply. He stared walking across the bridge slowly. No one wanted to go on there after him, especially since they knew they'd have to force him off, and the chances of the bridge breaking in the struggle weren't exactly slim.

Everyone watched him cross, holding their breath and crossing their fingers. Though the bridge groaned and squeaked under his weight, it held up fine as he made his way onto land once again, on the other side of the gap. He turned to them and smiled. Everyone finally released the breaths that they hadn't known they were holding in.

Suddenly, Charlie started moving towards the bridge as well.

"Charlie…" Jack said warningly.

"Hey!" Sayid exclaimed.

"Hey, if _he_ can do it…" Charlie said, shrugging. Scarlett rolled her eyes, though she admitted to herself that it was a valid point.

Charlie started walking across the bridge slowly. Once again everyone held their breaths, their hearts pounding in their ears as they watched him slowly make his way across. The bridge groaned and squeaked all along the way, and it swayed like crazy because of Charlie's lesser weight. Fortunately, he was doing all right.

However, just as Charlie was nearing the end of the bridge, it suddenly gave out, and the sound of snapping rope and crashing wood erupted.

"Charlie!" Jack yelled, just as Scarlett screamed with horror.

"Move!" Sayid shouted.

Charlie started running towards Hurley, a panicked expression on his face. Hurley reached out his hand.

"Charlie!" Jack yelled again.

"Run!" Scarlett screamed.

Charlie completely dove the rest of the way down the bridge, just as it fell. Rolling in the dirt, Charlie looked pissed off and in pain, but otherwise all right. Scarlett nearly began sobbing with relief. She felt herself shaking and forced herself to stop before it got out of hand.

"I'm okay!" Charlie yelled. He pumped his clasped hands in the air. "Whoo!"

"All right," Jack called over, sighing with relief. "You two stay put right there. We're going to find a way around, and we'll meet you there.

Scarlett turned and walked into the trees, following Sayid, who seemed to have some kind of purpose. They could hear Charlie yelling something behind them, but they kept going.

"How are we going to get across?" Scarlett asked worriedly.

"I don't know yet," Sayid admitted. He looked around the forest, shaking his head. "We'll find a way."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell them to walk with us along the edge?" Scarlett asked. "That way we don't have to cross, find them, then go all the way back?"

"I feel safer knowing they're right there," Sayid said, shaking his head. "The two of them together…who knows what might happen."

Scarlett sighed and looked back at Jack. He looked pissed off about something. Scarlett shook her head and faced front again, deciding that maybe she would just keep quiet.


	63. Numbers Part 3

Ooooookay, here it is! For your reading pleasure, the next chapter! This one's pretty action packed at the end/middle. In all honesty, I wrote the end of this chapter right after I got home from watching The Hills Have Eyes, so it may be a tiny bit influenced by that.

Please, please, please review!

**Tasha: **Hahaha, yeah, my hatred for Jack shows quite a bit. It's a bad habit, I know. I'm trying to quit! And yeah, this chapter was pretty bland in terms of relationships, but there's plenty more coming! I'm saving the Scarlett episode for season 2, I believe. I think it would be better if I did. And oooooo go you! Myspace conversations with guys you like it always a good thing! Hahaha thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Numbers (3): **Attack

They were walking for a while when suddenly Sayid started slowing down, looking around with an expression of recognition.

"What?" Jack asked, noticing that Sayid had frozen in place.

"This is familiar," Sayid said quietly. "This area…we're close."

"How do you know?" Jack asked. "I thought she lived underground."

Sayid wasn't moving, so Jack kept walking, looking back at Sayid with his brow furrowed. Scarlett looked around nervously, half-expecting to see a wild, crazed French woman standing nearby.

"Jack!" yelled Sayid suddenly. Scarlett glanced up quickly just as the ground exploded right behind Jack, knocking all of them onto the ground. Scarlett disgustingly found herself with Jack half on top of her, protecting her from the blast. She managed to get him off of her, and they both stood up. Scarlett reached down for a hand to help up Sayid. He took it gratefully and looked around, shaken up. Littered debris was scattered everywhere; branches and leaves and some papers. Sayid walked cautiously forward, holding up a hand to make sure that no one went in front of him this time. Scarlett felt at her head, where it was stinging. Her fingers came away with blood.

"Let me see," Jack said, taking her head in his hands and peering at the blood with a wince. "You'll be okay," he said assuredly. "We'll clean it up when we get back to camp. It's gonna bleed a lot, so hold something to it."

Scarlett held her sleeve to the cut and nodded. It didn't feel like it hurt a lot, but it certainly was bleeding quite a bit.

"It's clear," Sayid said, and she and Jack walked forward. Beyond the bushes and through the other undergrowth there was a large hole in the ground that looked like it had once held some form of a shape. Scarlett guessed that that had to be the French woman's shelter.

They got down into the hole, looking around.

"Hell of a security system," Jack remarked. "Somebody trips a wire, and the whole place blows up."

Sayid looked around.

"There's nothing here," he said. Scarlett peered past Jack. Sayid was right. There was nothing but broken branches and pieces of what looked like it used to be furniture.

"The batteries?" Jack asked, sounding like he was dreading Sayid's answer.

"Nothing," Sayid said with a heavy sigh.

"I don't get it," Jack said, and Scarlett for once had to agree. She didn't really get it either. She thought it had been the French woman's shelter.

"She knew," Sayid said after a moment. "She knew that one day I'd come back and bring others. So she abandoned this place, booby-trapped it, and moved on."

There was a short silence.

"Moved on where?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Sayid said quietly. "Perhaps to the other side of the island, perhaps to somewhere nearby."

"Is there a trail?" Jack asked.

"I am not a tracker," Sayid said, shrugging. "I wouldn't know."

Jack sighed and ran a hand over the top of his head.

"Great," he said quietly. "Just great."

He sighed and sat down on a large log that was nearby.

"Maybe it's best that she's not around us," Scarlett said in an attempt to be comforting. The look from Jack that she received told her loud and clear that he didn't really think it was all that comforting. "Besides, like Michael said, he doesn't really _need _the batteries."

Jack just sat there, pondering for a while. Scarlett decided that she was sick of waiting for him to stop sulking and plopped down on the ground for a bit, resting her sore legs. She had forgotten how tiring the whole trekking-through-the-jungle thing was.

"What now?" Sayid asked, still poking through the rubble with a stick.

"I don't know," Jack said quietly. "I really don't know."

* * *

_Scarlett arrived at the front door of Carrie's house, knocking on it with a cheerful smile. The door slowly creaked open, and Dan stood there, looking at her sadly. _

_"Scarlett," he said with a forced smile. "Come in. Carrie's waiting for you."_

_"Thanks," Scarlett said with confusion. She walked into the house and saw that Carrie was sitting on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. She looked at least ten years older; with huge bags under her eyes and lines along her pretty face. _

_"Hi, dear," she said to Scarlett as she entered. "Come here, sit down for a moment."_

_Scarlett sat down, looking over at Dan with a puzzled expression. He quickly left the room without making eye contact. Scarlett frowned and looked over at Carrie, who was looking down at the table as well._

_"What's going on?" she asked. "Everyone's acting all weird. Where's Nattie? Is Nattie okay?"_

_"Nattie's fine," Carrie said quickly. "Oh goodness, no, she's all right." She sighed. "It's…it's me, Scarlett."_

_"What's you?" Scarlett asked, her heart suddenly filled with white-hot worry. _

_"I'm sick," Carrie whispered quietly._

_"How, sick?" Scarlett asked, though she already knew the answer. _

_"Bad," Carrie answered. "The doctors…the doctors tell me I have three weeks to live."

* * *

_

Scarlett didn't know how long it was before Jack finally stood up and moved over to Sayid, who was still poking through the destroyed shelter, hoping to find something in there that would help them.

"We need to find Hurley and Charlie and get out of this jungle," Jack said. "I just hate that we're going home empty-handed."

Sayid didn't appear to be listening. Scarlett didn't blame him. She'd stopped listening to Jack herself.

"Hey," said a voice suddenly. Scarlett's head swiveled to face the direction from where it had come. Charlie was stumbling through bushes towards them. Jack and Sayid both started moving over. Scarlett got to her feet.

"Charlie?" she said in a questioning voice, her tone asking where Hurley was.

"Hey, somebody shot at us…Hurley and me," Charlie panted. "We were looking for you, and…" he trailed off.

Sayid turned and looked at Jack, his eyes wide and angry.

"Where's Hurley?" Jack asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," Charlie said. "He was right behind me, then he just…he just wasn't."

Sayid started to take off his backpack, a determined glint in his eyes.

"I'll go find him," he said.

"No, no, no, we'll all go," Jack said quickly, which pretty much translated to the fact that Jack wanted to be the hero. Sayid didn't offer any resistance, however, and put his backpack back over his shoulder. Jack started walking ahead. Scarlett glanced at Charlie.

"Go where?" asked Hurley's familiar voice from behind them. Everyone turned as he stepped into the little clearing they were in.

"Hurley!" Charlie said. "What the hell happened to you?"

Hurley reached into his backpack and held up a battery. He handed it to Jack.

"Need a battery?" he said with a proud smile. Scarlett grinned. Hurley turned to Sayid. "She says 'hey'," he remarked, then turned and started walking away. Sayid, Charlie, Scarlett, and Jack all stared after him, stunned into silence. Then, Jack looked down at the battery, smirked, and walked after him. It wasn't long before everyone else followed.

* * *

When they got back to the camp, it was completely dark. However, Scarlett immediately spotted Boone sitting on the sand and staring out to the waves. As the rest of the group walked over to where Michael and Jin were still working, Scarlett made her way across the sand and sat down next to him, looking over and smiling.

"Hey," she said gently to him. He turned and looked at her with surprise, but when he saw who it was, he smiled.

"Hey," he said, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. "I was so worried about you! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Scarlett said, shrugging. Boone frowned and looked closely at her forehead.

"Are you bleeding?" he asked, worried.

"Oh, that," Scarlett said, laughing slightly and reaching up to gingerly feel at the injury. "We got to the French woman's shelter, and Jack tripped this wire thing and the whole thing exploded. I don't know how, but I ended up cutting my head."

"We should get Jack to fix it up," Boone said worriedly, standing. Scarlett stood up as well, shaking her head.

"It's fine," she said. "It's already clotting."

"We're getting it looked at, at least," Boone said, looking at her pointedly. "Come on, we're going right now."

"Yes, mother," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. Boone grinned slightly and took her arm, walking quickly along the beach towards the path to the caves. "Come on, let's at least wait until tomorrow," Scarlett said tiredly. "I just walked through the woods for the entire day. I'd really like to rest."

Boone thought about it for a moment.

"All right," he said with a heavy sigh. "I guess it could wait. Are you sure it doesn't hurt or anything?"

"I didn't even remember that I had it until you said something," Scarlett reminded him. "I don't feel it at all."

Boone nodded glumly, and they walked over to their stuff, sitting down and staring into the already-prepared fire.

"Tomorrow," he said thoughtfully. "We'll start building our shelter."

Scarlett smiled at him.

"Yeah," she said. "Tomorrow."

Boone turned and smiled at her.

"You know, I'm really starting to like being here," he said quietly.

"I started liking being here a long time ago," Scarlett said with a small smile. Boone smiled back and pulled her into a hug.

"I know," he said quietly. "And you know what, you're never going to have to stop with me here."

Scarlett smiled at that and hugged Boone tighter.

"I'm not planning on it," she said quietly, and then the two of them sat there for a long while before finally going to sleep.

* * *

_Scarlett was standing in the middle of the forest, in a large clearing with vibrant green grass and large white flowers. Kneeling down, she let herself rest in the comforting foliage, a bright smile on her face. She remembered this place from her earlier dreams, though she didn't remember exactly what had happened in those dreams. _

_"Scarlett?"_

_Scarlett turned around and saw Carrie standing behind her, looking at her with a confused look in her eye. _

_"Carrie!" Scarlett exclaimed happily, standing up. "Hi!"_

_"What are you doing here?" Carrie asked. "Why are you…?"_

_Carrie trailed off, looking saddened. _

_"I just woke up here," Scarlett said with a wide smile. "Isn't it beautiful?"_

_"No, no, honey, you have to leave," Carrie said gently. "You can't be here. You have to go back."_

_"Why?" Scarlett asked, disappointed. She looked around sadly. "But I like it here. It's so peaceful."_

_"I know, baby," Carrie said, not making a move towards Scarlett as she usually would have done. "But this isn't where you belong. You have to be back there. You have to help."_

_"Help with what?" Scarlett asked. Carrie opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly there was a loud crash and a violent yell from somewhere in the trees. _

_"Help me!" screamed a voice that sounded like Boone's. Scarlett paled visibly._

_"Oh my God," she whispered, and then she turned and ran out of the clearing and into a deep blackness.

* * *

_

When Scarlett woke up, it was still dark out. She got to her feet, managing to not wake Boone, and she walked over to the tarp, which was filled with a little bit of water. As she bent down to fill up her bottle, she heard rustling in the bushes. Frowning, she glanced over in that direction. The bushes were indeed rattling slightly.

"Hello?" she said in a quiet, tremulous voice. The rustling stopped. Scarlett straightened, her brow furrowing with worry. "Is anyone there?"

No one answered. Scarlett considered getting some help, but her curiosity won out. She crept forward, grabbing a random large stick off of the ground and carrying it with her as she moved towards the bushes.

Someone behind her stirred, and she whirled around, peering into the darkness before deciding that it was just someone moving in their sleep and turning back to face the bushes.

Before she knew what was happening, someone had grabbed her from behind and knocked her to the side, putting a firm hand over her mouth before she could scream. After a stunned moment of allowing them to drag her into the bushes, she began to fight; kicking and screaming violently. Though she made very little noise, the kicking was effective, and she heard someone grunt out in pain. Though she had dropped her stick, her hand quickly found another one on the ground as her hand dragged along, and she swung at her attacker harshly. The force of the hit was enough to knock whoever it was to the ground, and she started to run back through the trees, realizing too late that she was running further from camp.

However, her assailant was down, but not out. He grabbed her by the ankle, and she hit the ground hard, landing on her elbows.

"Help!" she screamed violently. Her attacker managed to somehow get on top of her and clamped a firm hand over her mouth, but not before she could scream out again. She looked up at her attacker, but couldn't see anything through the shadowy hood that he was wearing. Bucking wildly, she managed to throw him off of her enough so that she could grab a rather large rock. However, a hand slapped down onto her own, and he pulled it away from the rock. With her other hand, she managed to reach up and started clawing at him viciously. Distracted by the pain and enraged, his hand left her mouth.

"Scarlett!" shouted someone in the distance.

"Fucking bitch," the attacker growled in a voice that Scarlett didn't recognize.

"Help me! Help!" Scarlett screamed. Her words broke off into garbled screams of terror as she and the hooded man violently fought each other. With a burst of sudden adrenaline, she drew back her arm and punched him square in the jaw. Angrily, he ripped something out of his pocket. Scarlett saw with horror that it was a knife. She screamed and grabbed the rock, which still lay over to the side, bringing it up to bash him in his forehead. Yelling with pain, he brought the knife down, ready to stab her, but she managed to roll out of the way just in time. The knife sliced across her shoulder, however, and she shouted with pain, trying to crawl away.

Before she had gotten very far, he grabbed her leg again. He started to drag her backwards, but she twisted in his grasp and kicked him in the arm with her other foot. He growled and bent down, grabbing her by the throat and hitting her across the side of the face, causing stars to explode in front of her vision. She felt blood tricking from her nose, and she lashed out at him with her fingernails. He yelled and tossed her away just as Scarlett heard voices coming towards her, and saw the lights of torches. She hit the ground painfully and lay there, fading from consciousness. She heard the heavy breathing of the shadowy man, and then his footsteps as he ran off into the jungle.

"Scarlett?" yelled out Jack's voice. "Scarlett, where are you?"

* * *

Boone had awoken in the night after a particularly disturbing dream to find that Scarlett was no longer by his side. Frowning, he got to his feet, shaking his head and looking around. Her water bottle was gone. He glanced over by the tarp, but saw that there was no one there. Frowning, he looked around. Jack was walking down the beach a little ways, so Boone jogged over to him.

"Hey man," he said.

"Hey," Jack said with surprise. "What are you doing awake?"

"I just woke up, and I can't find Scarlett," Boone said.

"I was looking for Kate," Jack said. "Maybe they're off somewhere together."

"Maybe," Boone said. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey, don't worry," Jack said with a small laugh. "Let's look together."

They started walking back down the beach, closer to the water.

"So Scarlett told you about the…" Jack started, indicating his stomach. Boone nodded.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I don't really know how she feels about it, but no matter what, I'm here to support her."

"That's good," Jack said sincerely. "I'm sure she really appreciates it."

"I hope so," Boone said, sighing. He looked upset. Jack looked at him questioningly. "I just…I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I don't do enough for her. I'm gone most of the time…"

"Honestly," Jack interrupted. "Boone, all this time we've been out here, it's been clear to me that she's been miserable. When I started seeing you two together, she looked happier than I ever saw her. You're good for her. She really, _really _cares about you."

Boone looked at Jack and smiled slightly.

"You think?" he asked hopefully. Jack patted him on the shoulder.

"I know," the other man said. Boone smiled slightly.

Suddenly, there was a scream from somewhere in the trees. Jack and Boone froze.

"That was Scarlett!" Boone yelled with horror, running up the beach.

"Boone, wait!" Jack yelled. He started running after the other man as a few people on the beach started waking up, groggy.

"Scarlett!" Boone shouted.

"Grab a torch!" Jack yelled. Boone yanked one of the torches out of the ground. Sawyer and Kate ran up.

"What the fuck is going on?" Sawyer asked loudly.

"Scarlett's in trouble," Jack said impatiently. Sawyer didn't say another word, but just grabbed a torch. Boone pulled out his knife, and they started into the trees with a large group forming behind them.

"Help me!" Scarlett's voice yelled out again. "Help!" The screams no longer were words, just horrified shrieks. In the echoing jungle, it was impossible to tell which direction they were in. Boone and Jack and Sawyer ran through the trees at a perilous pace, searching for where the sound was coming from. They heard sounds of a struggle, but it could have been in any direction. Then, there was a yell of pain that definitely did not come from Scarlett. Each man was filled with hope. Scarlett was fighting back.

"Spread out!" Jack yelled to the large group behind them. "Go that way!"

He, Boone, and Sawyer trekked onward; going in circles and traveling in whatever direction the fighting seemed to be coming from. Boone was starting to get desperate, and they both knew he was close to tears, but neither wanted to say anything.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped.

"Scarlett?" Jack shouted. "Scarlett, where are you?"

There was a long silence, and then they heard footsteps. Jack shined the torch over in one direction just as they saw a hooded man dashing off into the trees.

"Follow him!" Jack yelled to Sawyer. Sawyer took off running. Jack and Boone were about to follow when they heard quiet sobbing through the bushes.

"Scarlett?" Boone shouted.

"Boone!" came Scarlett's distraught response. Jack and Boone exchanged a glance and then took off running. They found her sitting up on the ground, holding a hand to her nose, which was gushing blood. Boone fell to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms, holding her and letting her cry. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, sobbing with relief.

"Who was that?" Jack asked. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Scarlett sobbed. "I was out getting water…and I…I…" she broke off into incoherent mumbles. Boone looked up at Jack worriedly. Jack bit his lip and shook his head.

"We need to get her back to the beach," he said.

* * *

About a half hour later, Jack breezed into Sawyer's tent with Sawyer and Kate behind him. Scarlett and Boone were sitting on the ground. Scarlett's eyes were wide with fear, and she was breathing heavily and clinging to Boone. Boone was holding onto her carefully, looking at her fearfully. It was clear that he had no idea what to do or say to her.

"Scarlett," Jack said gently as he walked into the tent, kneeling down in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said quietly, snapping out of her little trance at the sound of Jack's voice. Her eyes slowly began to focus, and she looked up at him fearfully. "Did you find him?"

"No," Jack said regretfully. Boone nudged Scarlett slightly and held out a wet rag. She thanked him and held it to her face to clean off the blood. "We couldn't find him. Did you see who it was?"

Scarlett shook her head slowly.

"He was wearing a hood," she said in a low voice, as if just talking too loudly about the fearful apparition would make him come back. "I couldn't see his face…and I didn't recognize his voice."

"What did he do to you?" Jack asked in a gentle voice.

"I'm not sure," Scarlett said, her brow furrowing. "I was over by the tarp, getting water, and I heard something in the bushes, so I went over to them to see what it was, and then he just grabbed me and dragged me into the trees. Everything after that is kind of blurry."

"Did he…" Jack began, then paused. Sawyer and Kate, sensing that it wasn't really right for them to be listening, quietly slunk out of the tent. "Did he try to…touch you…in a way that he shouldn't have?"

"What?" Scarlett asked, her brow furrowing.

"In a sexual manner," Jack clarified, looking slightly embarrassed. Scarlett shook her head vehemently.

"No, no, he didn't do that," she said. She paused, thinking. "No…"

It was clear that she was no longer sure.

"Are you positive?" Jack asked.

"No," Scarlett said in a quiet voice. "But I don't…I don't think he did."

"So all we know is that you were attacked in the middle of the woods at night," Jack said, holding up one finger. "It seems like he attempted to knock you out. Did he have a weapon of any kind?"

"No," Scarlett said, shaking her head. She paused, remembering a brief flash of light in the darkness. "Wait…no, he had a knife."

"A knife," Jack said, nodding slowly.

"Do you think he was one of Ethan's men?" Boone asked fearfully.

"I don't know," Jack said tiredly. "Were you able to hurt him? We heard him yelling."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, nodding. "I think I punched him, and I know I scratched him a few times."

"There's nothing else we can do," Jack said, sighing. Scarlett looked down at the cut across her shoulder, wincing slightly. Jack knelt down and opened the medical bag that he had carried back from the caves, pulling out a bandage.

"Is that really necessary?" Scarlett asked. "Why don't you save that for someone else?"

"Because no one else needs it," Jack said. "And you do. We can't risk you getting an infection. Not out here."

"What about the baby?" Scarlett asked quietly in a fearful voice that neither Jack nor Boone had heard out of her. It was a kind of vulnerability that they hadn't really seen before and that scared the both of them more than anything so far. I fell pretty hard back there. Do you…do you think it could be hurt?"

"No, it's too early for that," Jack said decisively. "You'll be fine, and so will it."

"Okay," Scarlett said with a small smile, looking a lot more relaxed than she had looked before. She pulled off her tank top, leaving just her bathing suit top on, and then she lowered the strap gently, letting Jack have full access to her wound. He carefully applied the disinfectant, then applied the bandage with great care. Scarlett slid the bathing suit strap back up, and then returned to applying the wet cloth to her nose.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Scarlett said quietly. "I'm gonna be fine."

Jack nodded to both Boone and Scarlett, and then turned and walked out of the tent, figuring that it was probably a good idea to let them have their privacy. As soon as he was gone, Boone turned to Scarlett.

"Did he touch you?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice. Scarlett had always thought he looked like a puppy, but at that point in time he looked more like a ferocious guard dog than anything else. "Because if he did, Scarlett…"

"I know," Scarlett murmured. She didn't need Boone to tell her what he would do. "I…I don't know what he was _trying _to do…but whatever that was, I think I stopped him from doing it."

"I'm going to kill him," Boone growled quietly.

"Just…don't leave me here," Scarlett whispered. Boone turned and looked at her, his features softening at once as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

"I won't," he said gently to her, soothing as a mother to a small child. "I won't leave you. I promise."

* * *

Back at the caves, a hooded figure bent over the waterfall, holding a mirror up to his face and wincing as he saw the already-blackening bruise around his eye. Swearing under his breath, he reached a hand into the water and splashed it onto his face, wracking his brain for ideas.

The figure heard some movement in the bushes and turned to see another man walking out of the shadows.

"Hey man!" the new figure said. He stopped. "Oh wow, sorry, I thought you were someone else."

The figure stepped forward and punched the other figure hard in the eye. The other figure swore loudly and punched back. Both of them were hit in the left eye. Both of them were hit where she had hit him.

"Dammit, man!" one of them swore to the other. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Oh, Jesus! Sorry!"

"Man, what the hell!"

The two of them laughed together. One shed his hooded sweatshirt and tossed it into the bushes without the other seeing.

"Shit, there's gonna be a bruise there tomorrow."

"I didn't know who you were. Sorry about that!"

"Hey, I hit you harder!"

"No way!"

The two argued back to their sleeping spot, where Alicia was already sitting.

"Jesus, guys, what the hell happened?" she asked, seeing their blood and bruises.

"You'll never believe it," Jeff answered with a laugh.

"Yeah, man, it was so stupid," Eddie replied, looking at his friend. They both smiled, one with a good natured grin, and the other with a smile full of malice.


	64. Deus ex Machina Part 1

Whoooo, so I just started Do No Harm last night, and I'm definitely 100 percent positive of what I'm doing with Boone now. My mind cannot be swayed! Though I think I'm going to need to explain my motives behind doing so. It'll be like a press conference or something, hahaha.

Anywhoo! Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please remember to review again!

And, after reading of the reviews, I got an idea. Who do you all think is the attacker? Is it Eddie, or is it Jeff? Please tell me who you think it is!

And, since I haven't done this in a while: Who thinks Boone should die, and who says that he should live?

**Tasha: **hahaha, I know, it was a little sketchy that no one like rushed to her aid or anything. But, you know how people are. Most of them probably turned over and went back to sleep or something. And it was sneaky indeed for the attacker to punch the other guy. I was kind of proud of myself for thinking that up. Now you won't know who it is until I decide to tell you :D. I most definitely have decided who the attacker is. I've figured out his motives, too.  
The Hills Have Eyes was _definitely_ good. Claire was in it! Which actually inspired me to write the attack scene. When you see the movie finally, you'll know why, haha. My dad actually took me to see it. I'm the oldest, so I was always the least sheltered, so he pretty much lets me see anything.  
I agree that Jack hatred is _definitely _a good thing. Especially recently, since he's been annoying me a hell of a lot more than before. First season, he was annoying, but not terribly so, but in the second season, I swear he got even worse.  
Ooooo revealing that you like people is always tricky. Though sometimes it can be a good thing. Are you guys close enough to be called friends? When this girl asked my friend out who I had the hugest crush on, I was obviously upset, and we were online and somehow he could tell I was in a shitty mood, so he figured it out and asked if I liked him. I said yes, and we got a lot closer and are still insanely close. Of course, nothing has come out of it yet, but I'm hoping one day he'll get his ass over to me :D. So don't worry too much! You never know what good can come out of little slipups like that! Haha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP:** Oooooo Florida! For two weeks! Lucky you! That's really awesome. I was actually wondering where you were, hahaha, since you're pretty loyal about the whole reviewing thing. But as long as you're okay, it's all good.  
And yeah, the last two episodes were reallllly good. I loooved them, hahaha. The newest episode, not sure if you got a chance to catch it or not, but it was sooo cute. I cried, hahaha. I'll admit it!  
I'm glad I made the end all creepy like I wanted to! Yes! And I'm spreading the "Jack-is-annoying" awareness! Also YES!  
Hahaha, you thought Scarlett should lose the baby_ and _Boone should die! Wow, you were feeling pretty aggressive, weren't you! Well, I'll tell you that one of those will definitely happen, though possibly both. Or maybe I won't do either :D. Basically, you'll just have to wait and see! Hahaha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Deux es Machina (1):** One Last Time

When Scarlett awoke the next morning, Boone and Locke were crouching beside one another several feet away, conversing in low tones. Scarlett pretended to still be sleeping and strained her ears to hear what it was that they were saying.

"I can't do this anymore, John!" Boone exclaimed violently. "I can't keep going off all day. She needs me!"

"Just for a few more days," Locke said in a pleading tone that Scarlett didn't think she had ever heard him use. "We're close, Boone. I can feel it. We're close."

"She got attacked in the woods last night, John! What if that happens again and I'm not here to stop it?"

"You'll be back before dark, Boone!" Locke exclaimed, getting slightly heated. "She's got everyone here to look after her."

"But _I _want to look after her," Boone shot back, and Scarlett smiled slightly, closing her eyes again at the sweetness of that comment. She stirred slightly, giving the impression of rousing from sleep, and Boone and Locke fell silent. Scarlett imagined that they were probably glaring at one another. She opened her eyes and turned to look at them just as Boone looked away from Locke and walked over to her with a smile plastered on his face to hide the worry in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently. She nodded and felt at her head, wincing at the bump that had formed where her assailant had hit her.

"Wow, how does that look?" she asked him, indicating the spot.

"Fine; you can't even see a thing," Boone said honestly, smiling at her.

"Are you lying to me?" Scarlett asked with a playful smile. Boone shook his head, grinning as well.

"Nope," he answered. Scarlett nodded slowly.

"I guess I'll believe you," she said with quiet reluctance.

"Thanks," Boone replied with a chuckle. He looked up at Locke, who was standing just out of earshot and looking around; obviously waiting for something. "I have to go out today, with Locke, but today is the last day. I promise."

"Okay," Scarlett said gently. She knew that Boone would keep to his promise. She could give him one more day. "Go ahead."

"Sorry," Boone muttered, rolling his eyes and giving her a look that clearly said he didn't want to do it either. Scarlett watched him go with her knees drawn up to her chest and a small smile on her face. Boone couldn't help being so nice. It was in his nature to want to help people out, even if said people were crazy and at times slightly delusional.

She sat like that for a while, until Boone and Locke had completely disappeared from view into the trees. Then, she turned and faced the ocean for a few moments before she heard someone calling her name.

"Hey," she said to Jack as he approached.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, looking at her with his head tilted to one side in question.

"Better," Scarlett said quietly.

"Where's Boone?" Jack asked, obviously slightly disapproving.

"Locke wanted him to go into the forest, just for today," Scarlett said in a defensive tone. "Boone likes to help people out."

"I just wish he'd help you out more," Jack said, stifling a sigh. He shrugged and knelt down beside Scarlett. She glared at him accusingly.

"Boone _does _help me out," she said in a harsh voice. "He helps me out more than anyone out here. Maybe you can't see it, but he does."

Jack didn't reply to that, but instead gently prodded at her wound for a few moments before sighing and shaking his head.

"I think you're going to be fine," he said. "Can you remember anything else?"

"He wasn't trying to rape me, Jack," Scarlett said in a quiet voice, though she wasn't too sure of that herself. What else would a man want with a woman in the middle of the woods at night when no one was around? Maybe that's what Ethan had done to Claire. The thought made her shudder.

"I just want to make sure," Jack said quietly. "You know I'm only asking these questions for your own good. It's not to make you uncomfortable in any way."

"I know," Scarlett said sharply. "But he didn't try to rape me. There's no need to ask."

Jack sighed and nodded, admitting defeat. He got to his feet slowly.

"Stay away from the trees, for now," he said. "I want to talk to people who went into the forest looking for this guy. I want to see what they found. I'll send Kate over in a few moments to stay with you."

"Okay," Scarlett said in a small voice. Jack, who had been prepared to argue with Scarlett over whether or not she needed Kate there, blinked in surprise.

"Okay," he said in a slightly cheerful voice, turning and walking away. That had certainly been slightly easier than he had thought it would be.

* * *

They walked down to the beach, side by side, their swollen eyes matching perfectly and their mouths smiling and laughing.

"Wow, it's a really beautiful day," remarked the innocent. He tossed his head back and stared up at the sky, smiling. The guilty chuckled slightly.

"It is," he remarked. "How much farther until the beach?"

"Not too far," the innocent said. "Let's go visit Scarlett. I hear something happened to her."

"Yeah," the guilty said, looking slightly nervous. Suddenly the façade of earlier smugness disappeared from his features. Still, he knew what to do if she had seen him. He knew what to do to her. He knew what would keep her quiet.

He smiled at the thought of drawing his knife across the Boone's neck, watching the blood spill onto the ground and knowing that when Scarlett fell from her high point, he would be there to catch her.

* * *

Scarlett yawned tiredly and looked at Kate, who looked just as worn out as she felt.

"Hey," Scarlett said, and Kate glanced at her, snapping out of the stupor she had just been in. "Do you want to take a walk or something?"

"Are you sure?" Kate asked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "Just down the beach. Not, like, near the trees or anything."

"All right," Kate said. She started to stand up when suddenly Jeff and Eddie popped seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hey!" they both exclaimed in very worried voices. "Are you okay?"

The way they said everything completely in unison made the two women collapse into giggles. Jeff and Eddie both smiled, and it was in the same way as well.

"Did you two practice that?" Scarlett asked. "Or have you just been spending _way _too much time around each other?"

"We're practically the same person," Eddie answered, rolling his eyes. "It's unbelievable."

As he was talking, Scarlett was gazing at the bruise on his eye. She glanced over at Jeff and saw that he had one as well. Her mind flashed back to the night before, when she had punched that man in the face.

"How did _that _happen?" she asked the two of them, smiling nervously. "If one gets punched does that make the other bruise, too?"

"No," Eddie said with a small chuckle, glancing at Jeff. The two of them laughed sheepishly. "Actually, this is a really stupid story. We ran into each other at the waterfall last night in the dark and each of us thought we were someone else, and we just attacked each other. Turns out we each got matching black eyes. Weird, right?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said with a small chuckle. Eddie gave her a small smile and sat down beside her. Scarlett couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. Jeff sat down in front of her, and she glanced at him, trying to find some sort of a hint in his eyes. Neither of them showed any sign of knowing what had happened the night before.

"So, we heard something happened," Eddie said suddenly.

"Yeah," Jeff continued. "We wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Scarlett said, her nervousness dissipating. They didn't sound like they knew anything. She knew there really wasn't any reason to not trust them; after all, their story seemed plausible. And it had only been one man who attacked her, not two. _That _was one of the few things she was certain of.

"What happened?" Jeff asked.

"Some asshole attacked me in the woods," Scarlett said, making a face. "Jack and Boone and half the camp got there before any real damage was done, but it still scared me."

"Did you ever catch the guy?" Jeff asked with interest.

"No," Kate answered, causing both Eddie and Jeff to glance at her as if they had forgotten that she was there. "We looked, but we couldn't find anything."

"He took off as soon as the others found me," Scarlett said, shrugging. She tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but the others with her could see that she was quite clearly still upset by the memory of her ordeal.

"I'm glad you're okay," Jeff said seriously. "Things were pretty vague up at the caves. No one was really sure what happened to you."

"I'm sure there were all sorts of crazy rumors," Scarlett replied with a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sure there were, too," Eddie said, chuckling. "We just heard it from Jack, who thought we had been at the beach when it happened and came asking us if we found anything last night. Apparently he sent a search party or something. I'm not really sure. That's all he would tell us."

"So we decided to come down here and see for ourselves exactly what was going on," Jeff continued.

"I'm glad you did," Scarlett said seriously. Eddie and Jeff both smiled, and no one could tell which of the two was secretly plotting, with the wheels turning constantly in his mind.

* * *

Boone watched Locke as the older man bent down in front of the hatch, wiping the dirt away.

"You want my opinion?" he asked.

"Boone, you gotta have some faith," Locke answered before Boone could give his said opinion. Boone sighed and stepped off of the hatch, picking up his waterbottle and taking a quick swig before tossing it back down on the ground. "All we've gotta do is break the glass, and then we're in," Locke continued. "The trebuchet delivers half a ton of force."

Locke followed Boone off of the hatch. Boone picked his way carefully through the foliage before moving over to where Locke was waiting beside the carefully-constructed trebuchet.

"Why do they call it a trebuchet?" he asked. "It looks like a catapult."

The two men started to push on the weight at the back of the large wooden structure, causing the head of it to rise in the air.

"It's called a trebuchet, Boone," Locke said, grinning at his young friend. "Because it's a trebuchet."

"I don't get you, man," Boone said decisively as they continued to push on the weight. "One minute you're quoting Nietzshe, now all of a sudden you're an engineer." He pushed back the weight while Locke slipped in a bamboo pole to hold the weight in place. "I don't think I can _spell_ 'trebuchet'.

"There's a 't' on the end," Locke said with a small grin, obviously finding himself funny.

"I'm serious, John," Boone said, panting tiredly from the exertion. "We've been coming out here every day for two weeks, and you never talk about yourself. Everybody's got a story."

"My story would bore you," Locke said, not really looking at Boone, but rather looking _through _him like he always seemed to do. Boone just sighed and walked away, going to get another sip of his water. The humidity was really getting to him. He opened his mouth to say something, then paused, thought about it for a moment, and continued with what he had been meaning to say.

"I really mean it about this being the last time," he said in what was a partial attempt at a threatening tone, though it didn't really seem to have any effect on Locke at all. He just nodded and smiled.

"I know," he said, sounding somewhat regretful. "I understand. I'll miss the company and the help, certainly, but I understand that you have someone to take care of now."

Boone nodded slowly, thinking of the look on Scarlett's face when he had told her that he was going to have to leave her that morning. He hated disappointing her way more than he hated to disappoint Locke. Since he knew he was going to have to disappoint one of them, it was pretty clear whom he was going to choose.

"I'm really sorry I can't keep helping," Boone said slowly. He _did _feel bad. He knew that Locke, as much as he tried to pretend he was invincible, was probably not in peak physical condition. He was an extremely physical person, no doubt about that, but he was getting old, and Boone knew that anything could happen in the jungle. He could fall down and break a hip, or something else of that nature. To send Locke off into the trees alone seemed really selfish.

"Don't worry about me," Locke said, waving his hand and smiling. "I'll find some other poor loner with nothing better to do with his time, and I'll make him come with me."

"Randy doesn't have many friends," Boone pointed out. Locke laughed.

"No, _anyone_ but him," he said, making a face. Boone laughed as well and moved back over to the trebuchet.

They began to wind the rope on the bamboo pole slowly. The metal tip of the trebuchet rose into the air easily at first, but as it got higher and higher, it became harder and harder to turn. Soon, as it was nearly obscured by the first layer of branches, it required all of the efforts of both of them to turn. Finally, it had reached the top.

"Three, two, one," Locke counted slowly, and then he released the pole and the rope. The metal tip flew down to the hatch window, crashing into it. The sharp tip was crushed, and pieces broke off and flew in several directions. The unsteady wooden structure of the trebuchet soon toppled over, and Boone and Locke just barely managed to keep clear of the debris.

Immediately after the trebuchet had completely fallen, Locke picked his way through the undergrowth and bent down on one knee, looking at the small glass window on the hatch. The glass wasn't even scratched.

"This was supposed to work!" he growled, slowly standing up. "This was supposed to work!" He slammed his foot on the hatch twice for emphasis.

Boone was watching him skeptically when he saw that Locke had something sticking out of his leg. A closer look revealed that it was a shard of metal.

"John!" he exclaimed, running over to the hatch quickly. He looked down at Locke's leg. Definitely metal, and it was sticking into Locke's leg. "Your leg, man," he said uneasily. It struck him as more than just a little odd that Locke didn't seem to notice that his leg currently had a good sized piece of metal sticking out of it.

Locke glanced around at his legs, actually looking at the wrong one first before he finally saw the metal. Slowly, he bent down and pulled it out. Boone made a face, and watched as some of the blood dripped into the hatch. Locke didn't wince once or make any sort of noise to indicate pain.

"You okay?" Boone asked uneasily. Locke looked at the bloody metal shard in his hands, then glanced down at his leg.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm…fine."

Boone watched him, and then Locke quietly dropped the piece of metal on the ground and turned and walked away.

* * *

Scarlett was sitting at the beach reading when Shannon walked up.

"Hey," Shannon said quietly to announce her arrival.

"Hey," Scarlett replied, putting down her book politely. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to, you know, see if you were okay," Shannon said slowly, looking at Scarlett with something that could have been compassion if Scarlett squinted. "I woke up when I heard you screaming. I didn't know it was you. If I had, I probably would have gone out there instead of hiding out with everyone else."

"Thanks," Scarlett said, smiling patiently, though she wasn't really sure if that was anything to be thanking Shannon for. "I'm okay, though."

"I'm glad," Shannon said lowly, looking down at the ground as an awkward silence came over them. "So…um…how are things with Boone?"

She glanced up at Scarlett, and Scarlett could see something in her eyes that surprised her. Shannon looked envious, almost. Jealous, in a way. She wasn't sure if it was because Shannon felt strongly for Boone, or just because Scarlett had something that Shannon once owned, and she wanted it back. Either way, Scarlett was slightly annoyed and felt largely defensive.

"Um…things are good," she said slowly once she realized that she was just staring at Shannon blatantly with a frown of disapproval on her face. "We've been getting a lot closer lately. He's been here a lot more, and less out with Locke."

She didn't mention that that day was the last day he was going to go out there with Locke. She didn't say anything about how he would rather be taking care of her than out on his little jungle adventures. She didn't mention how she and Boone slept together under the stars every night, or how she was pregnant and Boone was willing to help raise the child, even though he knew it wasn't his. She could have mentioned any of those things, and she knew it would hurt Shannon, just as Shannon had hurt her by telling her that Boone was in love with Shannon and not Scarlett. She knew she had that power in her hands, but she chose, unbelievably, to not use it. She decided that she was going to be the better person.

"That's good," Shannon said, oblivious to Scarlett's thought process only moments before. "You're really lucky, you know. Both of you. You know, to have each other."

Scarlett looked at Shannon dubiously. If the blonde girl was expecting everyone to jump on the pity train because she was 'stuck' with Sayid, she was sorely mistaken.

"You don't have it all that bad either," she said, at least attempting to make herself sound more joking than serious, though she was a little annoyed.

"I know," Shannon said dramatically. "But…I don't know."

Scarlett suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead pretended that she understood, nodding her head wisely.

"Yeah," she said, hoping that Shannon couldn't see that she was inwardly laughing at the girl's vagueness. If there was a vague award, at that moment, she would have given it to Shannon.  
"Well, I'm going to go," Shannon said. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, inwardly sighing with relief. Shannon walked away, and Scarlett returned to her reading. That had been hands down the most awkward conversation she had ever had in her life.

She sat there for a few more minutes, but found that her brain wouldn't focus on anything that she wanted it to. Finally, she gave up and walked away, looking for something to do.

"Hey, Scarlett!" exclaimed a voice from behind her suddenly. She turned around and saw that Kate was walking towards her. "I've been looking for you!"

"Awesome, what for?" Scarlett asked with a smile.

"I was just heading over to Sun's garden. She seemed a little off today earlier and I wanted to go help her out. You wanna come too?"

"Definitely," Scarlett said. "Let's go."

* * *

The two girls arrived at the garden a short while later to hear low voices talking. As they got closer, they heard that it was Sun and _Sawyer_, of all people.

"I'm sorry it's not helping," Sun was saying sympathetically.

"What's not helping?" Kate asked as they pushed through the undergrowth and walked into the garden. Sawyer turned and looked at Kate.

"Nothing," he muttered. He stood up and turned to Sun. "Thanks anyway." He looked around at the foliage around him. "Nice garden."

With that, he turned and walked away after nodding his head in Scarlett's direction. Sun watched him go, then turned back to her garden, sighing.

"What was that all about?" Kate asked, smiling slightly and folding her arms across her chest in that way she had when she was trying to pretend that she was only casually interested in the answer of the question but was really burning to know.

"He has headaches," Sun answered.

"Doesn't the guy have, like, a truckload of aspirin stashed away somewhere?" Kate asked incredulously.

"He says the aspirin didn't help," Sun answered. He glanced back where Sawyer had gone, and Kate and Scarlett both looked in that direction as well, frowning worriedly.

"Maybe…" Kate started slowly. "Maybe we should go to Jack."

"I was just thinking that," Scarlett said, sighing reluctantly. "Neither of them will like it, but Sawyer would rather die than admit to Jack that he needs his help."

"Definitely," Kate said with a snort. "Okay…Sun, we'll see you later. We need to go talk to Jack, okay?"

"All right," Sun said, smiling. She turned back to her garden, and the other two women walked quickly back towards the caves.

* * *

Kate walked into the caves, smiling at Jack. Scarlett hung back a little bit, waiting for her to say something. Kate had formulated the plan that _she _would do the talking, since she knew that Scarlett didn't really have much patience when it came to dealing with Jack, and they both knew the task at hand wasn't going to be easy.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kate asked. Jack looked up, looking eager and ready to answer any and all embarrassing questions that Kate might have to ask. "Say you're having bad headaches every day…"

Jack's eager expression was immediately replaced by the 'concerned doctor/friend' expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kate answered quickly.

"So, who are we talking about then, Kate?" Jack asked, sounding _annoyed_ of all things. "Is it Scarlett?"

He turned back to doing what he had been doing before the two women arrived; which was, oddly enough, shaving.

"Sawyer," Kate said simply

"Uh-huh," Jack said in a tone that implied that he had already figured that out, though he had clearly had no idea who the unfortunate headache victim was only a few seconds before.

"I just think there might be something really wrong with him," Kate said slowly.

"And what does _he _think?" Jack asked, packing up his shaving things.

"He says he's fine, but…"

"Then he's fine," Jack said with a smirk. He started to walk off, but Kate followed him. Scarlett followed as well.

"Well, he could be playing it down," Kate said. "There could be something…"

"Look, Kate," Jack said, sighing. "I'd love nothing more than to check the guy out and make sure he's okay." At that, he glanced at Scarlett, as if expecting her to snort and say something sarcastic. When she didn't, he continued. "But we all know all I'm gonna get for my trouble is a snappy one-liner, and if I'm real lucky, a brand-new nickname." Kate smiled slightly, though it wasn't with a whole lot of feeling behind it. "I'm just over it," Jack finished, putting the razor in his metal tin on the shelf with a vengeance. Kate looked down at the ground, but didn't say anything. Scarlett rolled her eyes and walked away.

* * *

That afternoon, Boone came back to the beach with a broad smile on his face.

"No more adventures for me!" he said with a happy smile, kissing Scarlett on the cheek gently. "God, it feels good."

"Did Locke find someone to replace you?" Scarlett asked.

"Not yet," Boone replied. "But I told him he might want to ask Charlie. The guy certainly likes going off and doing stuff. Though he's a little clumsy…but then, so am I."

Scarlett smiled.

"I think Charlie's a good choice," she said. "He's a hard worker."

"Yeah, but he's also got Claire to look after, so I don't know if he'll want to do it," Boone said, making a face. Scarlett nodded.

"Oh well," she said. "You know what…that's Locke's problem. He's been taking you out there for far too long."

"A little defensive, are we?" Boone asked with a smirk. "Don't worry. I won't be going back out there again."

"Good," Scarlett said with a smile, leaning forward and kissing him.

"So what happened today? Anything good?" Boone asked.

"Umm…well, something's wrong with Sawyer," Scarlett said. "He's got headaches. So I'm thinking we should avoid him for a couple of days. He seems pretty irritable."

"Did he talk to Jack?" Boone asked. Scarlett gave him a look that said he was stupid for asking. Boone laughed. "No, I didn't think so."

* * *

_"Miss Meyers?"_

_Scarlett turned around to face the man standing behind her, smiling at him sadly._

_"Yes, hi," she said. "Dr. Shepard?"_

_"That's me," the doctor said, looking down at his clipboard. "You're here to see your…"_

_"Mother," Scarlett said quickly. The doctor frowned for a moment, then looked back up at Scarlett, but didn't say anything. _

_"All right," he said. "This way."_

_Scarlett turned and looked over her shoulder at Stephen, who nodded and followed her, putting a hand on her shoulder. _

_"You okay?" he asked as they started down the hallway. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett murmured, and then she followed Dr. Christian Shepard down the hallway._


	65. Deus ex Machina Part 2

Okay! Here's the update! I've had a rather busy week, looking at colleges and going on random trips to the zoo and whatnot. I've barely had any time to write! But I figured I'd hurry up and update now. Soooo here you go!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! Please review again!

**JimmyP:** Hehe I'm glad you liked Jack's dad in there. And yeah, I agree that it's about time there was something involving Scarlett that was funny and not all depressing. It's kind of like how in Shakespearean tragedies, the comic relief always directly precedes the big tragic scene. Like some sort of twisted, ironic foreshadowing! Hehe, can you guess at what part I cried at? Thanks for reviewing!

**xlostangelx:** It is indeed THAT EPISODE! GASP! Thanks for reviewing!

**Char:** haha whoooops, I make a lot of mistakes like that. I fixed it though :D Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Deus ex Machina (2): **Revelations

Scarlett walked down the path to the caves a few hours later, Boone by her side.

"Wow, she actually seemed to care?" Boone asked with surprise.

"Yeah!" Scarlett exclaimed. "I know, it's really weird, but…well, she still seemed a little standoffish, but at least she was being nice…ish."

Boone laughed.

"Yeah, that's usually the best you can hope for when it comes to Shannon," he said, and Scarlett didn't miss the bitterness in his tone. She wondered what exactly his sister had done to him to make him so upset whenever he talked about her. She obviously did _something_. She was so eager to know, and yet at the same time she didn't want to know at all.

"She seems to be a lot more…I don't know, mature," Scarlett said quietly. "Don't you think?"

"I don't know," Boone muttered. "I haven't really sat down and talked to her since…for a while."

Scarlett frowned slightly at him. He had started to say something, she knew it, but he had stopped himself. She didn't know why, but he had. She felt like he was holding a lot back from her, but she really didn't want to risk anything happening with their relationship by bringing it up.

"Oh," she said instead of voicing those un-spoken worries. "Well sometimes, to me, it seems like she has."

"I'd be surprised if there was anything to it," Boone said, rolling his eyes. "She probably wants you to like her and is trying to act more mature because she knows you are _way _above her maturity level."

"Well, I won't exactly argue there," Scarlett said, snorting slightly. "I mean, don't get me wrong. She's a great girl. She's just…you know."

"Oh, I do," Boone said with a chuckle.

They arrived at the caves and walked over to the waterfall, still chatting.

"Hey, guys," said Hurley, walking out of the trees and smiling at them. "You seen Claire? She was looking for you earlier."

"No, I haven't seen her," Scarlett said. "Thanks, Hurley."

"No problem," Hurley said. "She seemed pretty upset about something. You might wanna go look for her or something. Last I checked, she was heading for the beach."

Scarlett glanced at Boone, immediately worried. He nodded and took her water bottle.

"You go ahead," he said. "Actually, do you want to wait for me? You know, after…?"

"No, no, it's okay," Scarlett said quickly. "I should be okay. Thanks, I'll meet you back at the beach."

Boone could see that she was distracted, so he didn't bother to say anything else. He just watched her go, biting his lip nervously. He knew he shouldn't be letting her go into the trees by herself, but it was during the day and there were people coming and going to the caves constantly. Still, he filled his water bottles up as quickly as he could.

* * *

Scarlett jogged back to the beach, and by the time she got there, she was covered in a light sheen of sweat. She had been so concerned for Claire's safety that she had completely forgotten that she also was in danger. Once she reached safety, however, she realized that it probably wasn't the smartest idea for her to be running off into the jungle by herself, especially after what had happened to her the night before. Still, there was nothing to be done about it considering she was already at the beach, so she just set off in search of Claire.

She found her friend sitting under a tree and looking out at the ocean, a little ways away from everything else.

"Hey," she said to her friend. The Australian girl looked up, surprised, and then smiled when she saw Scarlett.

"Oh, hey," she said. "I guess Hurley found you, then."

"He did," Scarlett said. "He said you looked upset about something."

"I just wasn't feeling too good," Claire said, shrugging. "Nothing to worry about."

"You sure?" Scarlett asked, sensing Claire's uneasiness.

"Positive," Claire replied, shrugging. "Here, sit down."

Scarlett sat down.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Claire shrugged.

"Looking for…" she began, and then she stopped, laughing slightly under her breath. "Wow, you know…I didn't even realize what I was doing until you said something." She rolled her eyes, looking slightly embarrassed. "I was looking for boats. Like _that's _ever going to happen."

"You know," Scarlett said quietly, not really sure why she had opened her mouth to talk but then just deciding that since she had already gotten the words halfway out, she might as well try to live up to what Claire was no doubt waiting for. "My boyfriend Kevin, back in Australia, had this saying that he got from his friend Tom. He used to say it to me whenever I got too glum thinking about stuff that happened when I was younger. It was 'everyone gets rescued eventually'. I used to think it was kind of corny. I mean, it was exactly the kind of thing Tom would think up; he was a real soft guy. But, after we crashed I kept hearing him saying that in my head, and I looked out there at the ocean and I thought that we'd get rescued; that the boats and planes would come and take us away from here. But now, now that I look out there and think about it, I think coming here _was _our rescue. I think being here with everyone and meeting the people we've met was our rescue. Rescue from everything we needed to be saved from." She stopped, realizing that she was rambling on and on about something completely stupid. She flushed slightly and looked down at the ground. "I don't know…I was just thinking out loud."

Claire was looking at her oddly, and she frowned slightly when Scarlett was done.

"Yeah," she said quietly, never taking her eyes off of Scarlett. "Yeah, I think I agree to that." She paused, then squinted slightly and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but was that thing 'everyone gets rescued eventually'?"

"Yeah," Scarlett said.

"And you said his name was Tom?" Claire asked. "As in short for…Thomas?"

Scarlett nodded slowly, realization dawning on her. Claire looked at her with surprise, realizing it at the same instant.

"Oh my God," Scarlett said quietly, excited. "Claire, of course! I remember Thomas used to talk about his pregnant girlfriend! He used to say he was going to bring us all to meet you, but he never did."

"He was an asshole," Claire muttered.

"I agree," Scarlett said. "But…wow, can you believe that?"

"I can't," Claire admitted. "Out of everyone in Australia, you ended up with Thomas's friends. I can't believe that."

"It's a small world," Scarlett said, smiling slightly. Claire grinned at her, and then both of them sat back to reflect on the many times that each of them had heard the other mentioned, even indirectly. It marveled them to know that long before they even thought about getting on Oceanic flight 815, they were in each other's world, though they may not have known about it. It was definitely something that was hard to think about; knowing that they had coexisted for longer than they thought they did. It was creepy, in a way, yet also thrilling and exciting.

"I guess we were just meant to meet each other," Claire said after a pause, laughing under her breath. Scarlett laughed as well, before smiling thoughtfully to herself. It was nice to think that that could be true. That somehow them ending up on that airplane wasn't a coincidence.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that for it to all be a coincidence, it would have had to be an amazing one. All of the intertwining personalities and relationships that were formed; it was like they were all just pieces to a puzzle that had all been shaken apart by the rough ride of life, but were set aside on the island to put themselves together the way they were supposed to be. She liked the thought of that.

Claire evidently liked the thought too. They both smiled at each other at the same instant, and then laughed slightly in the same way.

"Okay, just because we were destined to be together, it doesn't mean we should start being creepy," Scarlett said with a chuckle. Claire laughed as well.

"That's so cool, though," she said with a smile. "I can't believe that."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, and they sat in a thoughtful silence as the sun began to set.

* * *

Scarlett walked Claire back to her shelter, and then moved off to find Boone. He was sitting by the fire, staring into it and looking quite attractive as the shadows played across his hair.

"Hey," Scarlett said, sitting down next to him and kissing him on the cheek. He looked over and smiled absently.

"Hey," he said, biting his lip. "Umm…I think we need to talk about something."

Scarlett was filled with that anxious butterflies feeling in her stomach, and she looked at him with trepidation.

"About what?" she asked, scarcely believing what she was hearing. Talking could mean breaking up. How could they break up? Nothing bad had happened.

"I was talking to Shannon earlier," Boone said quietly. An icicle of fear pierced Scarlett's heart. "And…she told me that she 'slipped up' about our secret."

"Oh," Scarlett said, slightly relieved but managing to keep her tone as neutral as she could.

"I know…I know it may seem a little messed up," Boone said quietly. "But I wanted to explain it to you one day later when I didn't think you'd be upset about it."

"I was waiting for you to say something about it," Scarlett murmured, looking into the fire as if her very life depended on it. "But you never did."

"I know," Boone whispered. "But you have to know that I don't love her anymore. Locke helped me get over that. He helped me move on."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding and smiling. They both knew that the smile was forced, and she didn't believe him, but Boone didn't mention it.

"Besides," he said pointedly. "I mean, it's quite clear that you still love Stephen."

Scarlett looked at Boone with a metaphorical defensive shield coming up around her.

"I don't," she whispered bitterly. "That's over with, I told you."

"Yeah, but I mean, sometimes it seems like you still…"

"I don't," Scarlett cut him off. "Boone, I don't love him."

Boone fell silent, realizing that he had made a mistake by bringing up Stephen. Scarlett looked at him for a while.

"I just wish that _you _had told me instead of _her_," she said quietly. "I thought you trusted me."

"I do," Boone protested. "I just…I didn't want you to run away."

Scarlett shook her head.

"I would _never _run away," she said. Boone looked into the fire again, and an awkward silence fell over them until Scarlett lay on the blanket and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

* * *

_Scarlett was standing in that clearing again, just as she had been so many times before. She walked around slowly, biting her lip and looking at everything. Something seemed different. It didn't feel safe anymore. _

_She made her way down to where she could hear water flowing gently in some kind of stream. _

_"Hello?" she called out. She could sense someone in the bushes, but she couldn't see anyone. "Is someone in there?"_

_A bird chirped in response. Scarlett turned around to see if there was anyone behind her. No one. She bit her lip with frustration. She turned around again and made a small noise of exasperation. She _knew _there was something there. _

_She was just getting ready to shout out again when she heard the sound of running footsteps. She quickly twirled in all directions, trying to find the source of the noise. The echoing in the trees around her prevented her from being able to tell which direction it came from._

_"Where are you?" she shouted. The footsteps increased, and suddenly it sounded like there were a thousand people all racing towards her. She screamed and covered her head, falling to the ground as something slammed into her. There was the sound of metal crashing, and suddenly a large thud as something hit the ground near her head. The ground vibrated, and she opened her eyes, coming face to face with Boone. His beautiful face was covered in blood, and his eyes were open in the silent gaze of death. "No!" Scarlett screamed. She reached for him, sobbing, but invisible hands pulled her back, prying her away from him. "No, Boone! I'm sorry!" _

_Boone didn't respond, and Scarlett was pulled off into the jungle, sobbing Boone's name.

* * *

_

Boone was sleeping on his back, his head swirling with unpleasant dreams when someone gently shook him. He murmured something and turned his head, trying to get the other person to go away.

"Boone," whispered Locke's voice. "Wake up."

Boone murmured something else that was supposed to make sense but ended up sounding like complete jibberish.

"Shh!" Locke exclaimed.

"What time is it?" Boone asked with exasperation. It was still dark. He glanced over at Scarlett, who was curled up, facing away from him. The events of the night before came back to him, and he sighed sadly. He had nearly forgotten about their little fight.

"It's morning," Locke answered, snapping Boone out of his little flashback. "Come on."

He shook Boone again.

"Okay, okay, I'm…I'm…I'm up," he whined, sounding like a kid. "I'm up. I'm up." He got up slowly. "What's going on?"

"Come on," Locke said in answer. "Let's go."

He thrust Boone's backpack at him, and Boone caught it, but then shook his head.

"No, no, John," he said warningly. "I told you I wasn't gonna do this anymore."

"I know," Locke said. "But this is different. There's something really important this time."

"I know," Boone said, rolling his eyes. "Just like last time and the time before. Now, I told you that yesterday was the last day. Scarlett needs me here."

"Scarlett needs some time to herself after last night," Locke said pointedly. Boone looked at him angrily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looking like a petulant child. "Yes, I heard you guys talking. I really think it would be best to leave her on her own for now."

"You're just saying that so I'll go with you," Boone said with a glare. "Forget it, John. I'm not going."

"Boone, please," Locke said, giving Boone a look that was filled with desperation. "I need your help on this one."

"John…" Boone said with exasperation. "I already told you…I'm done with this."

"Just come with me for one more day and give Scarlett some time to think about what happened," he said. "She'll forgive you eventually either way, but if you're away, then she'll have some time to think without you around. It'll make her decide much faster."

Boone knew that Locke just wanted him to go into the jungle, but at the same time he was making sense. Maybe Scarlett just needed some time to calm down. He could see the reasoning in that.

"Fine," he muttered. "But this time, I mean it. This is the last time I'm going out there."

"Fine," Locke said, smiling at him. "Thank you, Boone."

"You owe me," Boone retorted, casting one last sorrowful look back at Scarlett's sleeping form. Faltering for a moment, he picked up a few pieces of wood off of the ground and put them on the dying fire, draping his blanket over Scarlett. Then, he bent down beside her and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll be back later," he whispered. There was a short pause, and he brushed her hair out of her face. "I love you," he said quietly, and then he stood again and walked to where Locke was waiting for him. As they walked into the woods, Boone smiled slightly. And then the dark engulfed them.

* * *

Scarlett awoke a half an hour later to find that Boone and his stuff were gone, and that Boone had given her his blanket. She sighed and rolled onto her stomach, biting her lip. Part of her wanted to cry, but at the same time she knew that it was nothing. After all, it was just a little fight. Still, she wondered where he was. He couldn't be off with Locke, so he was probably with Sawyer, or somewhere with Shannon. The thought made Scarlett cringe.

Closing her eyes, she was only a little bit surprised to feel tears squeezing out from behind her eyelids. Drawing in a shuddering breath, she rested her head on her arms and allowed herself to cry. She had held in so many emotions for so long that crying helped a lot more than she thought it would have. She didn't care who heard her, or what they would have to say to that. She just cried until she couldn't cry anymore, and then she lay there holding Boone's blanket in her arms and wondering what was going to happen to them.

* * *

As soon as it was light out, she went off in search of Kate. Coincidentally and fortunately, Kate was looking for her as well. They met up right beside the path to the caves, and then started down it, though neither of them really had any reason to go there.

"Me and Boone got into a fight last night, I think," Scarlett said to start off conversation. "But I'm not sure."

"What happened?" Kate asked, not ridiculing Scarlett for her uncertainty regarding the existence of a fight.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Scarlett said, slightly embarrassed.

"We've got all the time in the world," Kate said with a snort. Scarlett nodded.

"Right," she said. "Well…okay. Just don't go spreading this around or anything. Shannon and Boone aren't really related; his mom married her dad when they were eight and ten. So Boone was kind of in love with her."

"No way," Kate gasped, looking intrigued and slightly grossed out. "How? I mean…why?"

"I don't know," Scarlett said with a small smile. "But he did. And apparently he still loved her when they crashed."

"Oh," Kate said, sounding sympathetic and surprised.

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Shannon told me all of this after me and Boone got together. I kept waiting for Boone to say something about it, but he never did. So last night I got back to our fire, and he told me that Shannon told him that she had kind of slipped up about the whole thing, and he decided to talk to me about it then."

"That's…" Kate started, but then she broke off, just deciding to shake her head instead.

"I kind of got mad about it," Scarlett said. "But I was trying not to be too dramatic about it, because I just didn't really want anything to happen. But then he brought up Stephen, and I got really cold, I think."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, confused.

"He said that I still loved Stephen," Scarlett said sadly. "But…I don't. And I really think I overreacted and kind of snapped at him and told him that I don't love him. And then we just didn't talk, and I rolled over and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, he was gone."

"Do you know where he is?" Kate asked. Scarlett shook her head. "Maybe he's out with Locke?"

"He can't be," Scarlett said, shaking her head. "He told Locke he wasn't going to do it anymore."

"Maybe he changed his mind after last night," Kate pointed out. "Maybe he thought you needed some time or something."

"Maybe," Scarlett said glumly. She couldn't believe that she had done that the night before. It didn't seem like such a big deal once she was standing with Kate in the daylight talking about it, but the night before she had been so upset. She had no idea why. Boone's explanation as to why he hadn't told her about Shannon was a good one; if a little insulting in his fear that she would leave him if she found out about it. Still, it was reasonable enough considering Boone was a really insecure guy. She didn't know why she had been so upset about it.

She decided that when he got back, she would apologize to him, no questions. It was the least that she could do. She knew that Boone, being Boone, would forgive her, because he was just amazing like that.

She smiled slightly and walked on with Kate, confident that the whole mess would soon be cleared up and then everything would go back to normal.

* * *

_"So she's really sick?" Carol asked sadly. Scarlett nodded, letting herself melt into her friend's embrace. _

_"They don't know how long she has," she whispered. "Her doctor's trying really hard, though. He's a really nice guy."_

_"Is that the Shephard guy we met today?" Stephen asked from where he was sitting on the couch, watching the football game. _

_"Yeah," Scarlett said quietly. "Wasn't he nice?"_

_Stephen murmured a general noise of agreement. Scarlett turned to Carol again, giving up on engaging Stephen's interest. _

_"I'm going to see her tomorrow," she said. "Do you want to meet her? She always said she wanted to meet you. She said you seemed like a smart girl."_

_"I'd love to meet her," Carol said sincerely. "Really, I would. I'll go with you tomorrow."_

_"Thank you," Scarlett said, smiling and hugging her friend again. "I really can't tell you how much that means to me."_

_"I think I have the general idea," Carol said with a smile. "Scarlett, you've been there for me through everything I've ever gone through. This is the least I can do for you now."_

_Scarlett smiled slightly and hugged her friend tighter, not wanting to ever let Carol go. It was one of those moments that she just wished could last forever. She didn't know how she got such an amazing friend. _

_With the sound of Stephen cheering on the football team in the background, Carol and Scarlett hugged.

* * *

_

Out in the jungle, Locke was explaining a rather odd dream to Boone, who was sitting on a lump of dirt and fiddling around with a piece of dark green canvas.

"I asked for a sign," Locke said. "And then I saw a plane crash…a Beechcraft. Out there." He pointed. "It was a dream, but it was the most real thing I've ever experienced. I know where to go now."

"Go for what?" Boone asked, taking a sip of his water.

"To find what we need to open this bastard up," Locke said. Boone regarded him skeptically.

"Have you been using that wacky paste stuff that made me see my sister get eaten?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at Locke.

"No," Locke chuckled. "Boone, no."

"Cus, John, I gotta tell ya…" Boone said, shaking his head. "Signs and dreams and…"

"Who's Theresa?" Locke asked suddenly. Boone stared at Locke for a moment, a thrill of fear running through him. He didn't know how the other man knew Theresa's name. Maybe it was a coincidence.

"What?" he asked, pretending he didn't know what Locke was talking about.

"Theresa falls up the stairs, Theresa falls down the stairs," Locke said. Boone looked at him with surprise and wariness. "You were saying that in the dream."

There was a long silence in which Boone looked at Locke, trying to figure him out.

"How'd you know about that?" he asked finally. Locke put his backpack over one shoulder slowly.

"I don't know, Boone," he said. "But we're supposed to go to this place." He pointed off to the side, in the direction he was planning on heading. "We're supposed to find that plane. Will you come with me?"

Boone paused and glanced back in the direction of the camp, though he could not see Scarlett and did not expect to see her. For a few moments, he thought about heading back and trying to talk to her about the night before, but he didn't want to face that disapproval and disappointment again. He didn't think he could take it. Instead, he nodded. Locke smiled.


	66. Deus ex Machina Part 3

Sorry about he long wait! It's been wicked busy this week. I've had AP tests, parties, and all sorts of other horrible/cool things :D But I'm back and here's the update!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! Please remember to review again!

**JimmyP: **hahaha that's okay if you can't think of anything original to say. I never can either, so that's no problem.  
Yup, I just made Scarlett and Boone's conversation a bad one. Can't tell you if it'll be their last or not.  
I cried at that part yeah, but also at the part when Rose told Bernard that the island had cured her, and he said that he couldn't leave if she had to stay there. It was really sweet and touching and I just lost it!  
Michael going crazy would be so awesome!  
Yeah, it's not forgotten, but they're not talking about it at the moment. Kind of like how Michael was missing and no one wanted to talk about it lol.  
Thanks for reviewing!

By the way! I xangaed myself again because my sister found my old one and I didn't feel comfortable spilling my heart when she was reading it. So, if you care to add me as your pal or just read and laugh at me, the linker is:

www(dot)xanga(dot)com/x3letoloverx3

VISIT!

* * *

**Deus Ex Machina (3): **Abundant Immaturity and a Fucked Up Plan

"Hey, guys," Scarlett said, walking up to Michael and Jin, who were continuing their work on the raft.

"Hey, there's my other employee!" Michael said with a smile, hopping down from the raft and brushing off his hands. He spread his arms apart and looked at Scarlett, waiting proudly.

"It looks great!" Scarlett exclaimed. "Wow, you guys are really coming along well without me!"

"Don't think that means you can take off!" Michael said warningly, sticking a finger in her face and waving it playfully. "We definitely need you here to keep the peace, if nothing else." He lowered his voice a little, though Jin didn't appear to be listening, and even if he were, he wouldn't have been able to understand a word Michael said anyway. "Jin's been driving me _crazy_ with his constant chatter."

"Oh, I bet," Scarlett said with a chuckle. She turned to Jin. "Hi, Jin."

Jin looked up from his work and smiled and nodded, saying something in Korean that sounded friendly.

"See what I mean? The guy likes you!" Michael exclaimed. "I'm under the impression that he isn't too fond of me."

"I'm not going to bring up any past business or anything, but I vaguely remember something about you punching the guy in the jaw," Scarlett said, arching an eyebrow at her friend. Michael gave her a little glare that wasn't even half-serious.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Still, he's being hostile."

Scarlett shook her head and smiled, but didn't say anything. She thought that it was probably better that she didn't go any further. Michael got the point.

"So, what can I do?" she asked.

"Well, for now, I'm sure Jin would appreciate help with wrapping the rope around those bamboo bunches. He isn't very good at that."

Right on time, the bundle of bamboo fell apart in Jin's arms, and Jin started shouting at the scattered pieces of plants in Korean. It was pretty clear what he was saying.

"Well, I'll go help him out with that," Scarlett said with a laugh, walking over to Jin and wordlessly helping him pick up the fallen sticks.

* * *

They were working for a little while before Jack walked up, looking slightly meek and unusually un-bossy. Jin passed a bamboo stick up to Michael, neither of them noticing that Jack was approaching. Scarlett noticed, but didn't look up from her rope winding.

"I was gonna ask you how this was going," Jack said, catching Jin and Michael's attentions and walking over near where Scarlett stood. "But it's coming together fast." He looked over the raft, clearly impressed. Scarlett smiled proudly at Michael.

"The fire wasn't a total loss," Michael said. "We learned a few things from building the first one, which is saving us from trial and error." He put a log down and looked up at Jack, grinning slightly. "Now it's just…" he looked over at Jin. "Trial."

Jin noticed Michael looking at him and waved his hand, saying something quickly in Korean.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," Michael said absently. Jin pointed out to the ocean and said something even more quickly. "Yeah, man, I know," Michael replied, waving his hand. "Now, now, now!"

"Picking up on a little Korean there, Michael?" Jack asked. Scarlett was surprised and, naturally, annoyed to notice that Jack seemed _suspicious_. She didn't know what there was to be suspicious about, but the tone was definitely there.

"Yeah!" Michael exclaimed, not noticing the distrustful tone and perking up slightly. He handed a bamboo log to Scarlett, and she laid it down in its place. "I'm pretty sure I know how to say, uh… 'faster' and 'idiot'." He chuckled, and Jack laughed as well. As Jack looked over to the side, he stopped laughing gradually and instead looked concerned. Michael turned to say something to Jin, and Jack walked away. Scarlett glanced towards the direction that Jack had been looking in and saw that Sawyer was resting against a tree, putting a cool cloth over his forehead. Scarlett grinned slightly.

"Hey, Michael," she said. "Sawyer and Jack. Potential showdown."

"Awesome," Michael said, jumping up on the raft to join her in watching. Jack sauntered up to Sawyer and stopped in front of him, looking all proud and important and martyr-like. He said something to Sawyer that neither Michael nor Scarlett could pick up, and Sawyer lifted the cloth off of his head, retorting with something nasty, naturally. Jack looked mildly offended for a few moments before saying something else and bending over to get a better angle at Sawyer's face, which was suddenly wrinkled in disgust and loathing. He shot something back that made Jack straighten up and make a similarly disgusted face. Jack started to walk away.

"They're not done," Scarlett predicted.

"Oh, hell no," Michael agreed.

Just as predicted, they weren't done. Sawyer called Jack back, and then they talked for a few moments. Jack started to walk away again, but Sawyer called him back again, shouting 'my uncle'. Michael and Scarlett looked at each other.

"What the hell?" Scarlett asked, chuckling.

"Guess we'd have to hear the whole conversation to get it," Michael said, shrugging. Scarlett nodded. Sawyer stood up, they talked some more, and then something shocking and surprising happened. Jack _laughed_. And then he walked away, still chuckling.

"Did you just see what I saw?" Scarlett asked, taken aback and more than just slightly surprised.

"I think so," Michael said, shaking his head. "But _damn_, that was weird."

"Oh, I'm all over this," Scarlett said, jumping off the raft and jogging over to Sawyer. "Sawyer!" she exclaimed. He turned and looked at her, smiling when he saw who it was.

"Hey, little chickadee," he said, his dimples deepening. "Too hot to be wearing anything decent?"

Scarlett glared at him, pulling up her black spaghetti-strap shirt absently.

"Funny," she said. "But seriously, what the _hell _just happened over here? Me and Michael saw Jack laughing when he left you. I honestly can say that I have _never _seen that. Ever."

"Yeah, guess he thought my joke was funny," Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Asshole still can't help me with my headaches."

"You're still having them?" Scarlett asked, her brow furrowing when she heard that. "Maybe you just need some more sleep."

"I sleep more than anyone on this whole damn island," Sawyer said with a snort. "Combined. There ain't no way these headaches are on account'a that. It's gotta be something else."

"Like what?" Scarlett asked.

"I ain't got that far yet," Sawyer said with a playfully dangerous growl. "But, uh, changing the subject…where's Metro? I ain't talked to the boy in a long time."

Scarlett's face clouded over slightly, and Sawyer could immediately tell that his change of subject hadn't been a very good idea.

"I don't know where he is," she said calmly. "We got into a fight last night…I don't really feel like going into it again. I told Kate if you really want to know…but…I don't know, basically he was gone when I woke up."

"Probably off in the jungle with Old Man River," Sawyer said with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Scarlett said glumly. "Exactly."

"Hey, don't worry," Sawyer said, smiling at her sadly. "It'll be fine."

That was about as close to sympathetic as Sawyer got, and Scarlett knew and appreciated it.

"Thanks," she said to him, grinning. "That helps."

"I'm glad to know it," Sawyer said. "Now, I'm gonna go and try to sit in the shade for a while."

"That might be good," Scarlett said. "Though if you ask me…"

"I ain't goin' to see the doc, so don't you even _think _of suggesting it," Sawyer interrupted, putting his finger in her face warningly. She grinned at him knowingly.

"I'm just saying," she said, putting up her hands in surrender. "All right, fine, don't take my advice. I'll go work on the raft some more. Headache free, I might add."

She started walking away, giving him a knowing look. He glared at her and rolled his eyes, walking off towards his tent. Scarlett walked over to where Michael was waiting.

"So?" Michael prompted.

"Jack was laughing at a _joke _that Sawyer made," Scarlett said, shrugging. "I guess it was funny or something."

"Probably wasn't anything about Kate, then," Michael said with a snort.

"You never know," Scarlett said, laughing as she continued helping Michael with the raft.

* * *

Boone and Locke walked through the trees silently, a bare hint of tension between them. Usually, they were both full of life and talking about everything that was going on back at the beach, maybe talking about Scarlett or about what foods they missed eating. There was never such a heavy silence over them. Boone felt like he had to say something to break it.

"I could have mentioned her name out by the hatch one day," he said, since Locke's surprising knowledge of his childhood memory had been on his mind.

"Who?" Locke asked, looking confused.

"Theresa," Boone clarified. "Maybe I was talking to myself."

Locke started fiddling with his compass.

"Maybe," Locke said, then he turned and looked at Boone. "But you didn't." He closed the compass and put it back in his pocket, turning to the left a little bit. They continued walking.

"So in this dream, you saw a plane crash, right?" Boone asked.

"Yeah," Locke said.

"Okay," Boone said patiently. "The fact that we were all just in a plane crash…you didn't think for one sec…"

Suddenly, without warning, Locke collapsed.

"Ow," he said, rather pathetically. Boone tossed his backpack on the ground quickly and bent down to help him.

"John, you okay?" he asked, but Locke brushed him away.

"I'm fine," he said irritably, slowly getting to his feet.

"What's wrong with your leg?" Boone asked.

"I'm fine," Locke repeated with a look that clearly told Boone not to ask again. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and looked over Boone's shoulder, freezing in place.

"What?" Boone asked. Locke silently reached behind Boone's head a little bit and pulled his hand back with, of all things, rosary beads clutched in his fingers. He held them out to Boone, who took them an examined them with a puzzled expression. "Someone from camp hiked all the way out here?" he asked, thinking automatically of Rose. Out of everyone back on the beach, he couldn't really see anyone but Rose having rosary beads.

"Nope," Locke said, looking up at the trees.

"Where do you think it came from?" Boone asked, still looking over the rosary beads. Locke pulled on a vine that he had been holding onto, and suddenly something fell out of the tree, directly behind Boone. He gave a little grunt of surprise and backed up, shocked and disgusted to see a rotting corpse lying on the ground by his feet. As he stared, a centipede wiggled its way out of the eye socket.

"Him," Locke answered, a slightly amused edge to his voice. Boone looked up at him, and then back down, making a face.

"That's disgusting," he groaned.

"Well, we've seen stranger things," Locke said, bending down beside the body and looking it over slowly. He handed Boone a small bible. He began to flip through it idly.

"He was a priest," he noted as Locke pulled a pen off the front of the man's clothing. "How long do you think he's been dead?"

"Normally, clothing would completely decompose within two years, but this is high-quality polyester." He ripped the top off of the pen to reveal a knife hidden inside. He put the top back on the pen and handed it to Boone, continuing his examination of the man's person. "Could be two years, could be ten."

Boone opened the pen, looking at the knife as it glinted in the sunlight.

"Wow," he said in a quiet voice, shrugging and putting it into his bag for safe-keeping.

"Gold teeth," Locke remarked. "Obviously well off." He pulled a wad of bills from the pants pocket of the priest. Boone looked at it; it wasn't American currency.

"What kind of money is that?" he asked. Locke flipped through the wad absently.

"Nigerian Naira," Locke replied. Boone looked at him incredulously.

"What's a Nigerian priest doing on an island in the South Pacific?" he asked. Locke pulled his hand out of the pocket again, this time retrieving a gun. Boone watched with wide eyes.

"I'm not so sure he's a priest," Locke answered.

* * *

Scarlett walked down the beach with Kate, their towels slung over their shoulders.

"That felt good," Scarlett said with a chuckle.

"It did," Kate agreed. She started to say something, but then stopped when she saw Sawyer crouching beside a bucket of water, holding a wet cloth to his forehead.

"Looks like he's still got those headaches," Scarlett remarked.

"This is ridiculous," Kate said, groaning. "He's going to Jack whether he likes it or not."

"Good luck getting him to go," Scarlett said.

"Oh, I'll get him," Kate said with a determined glint in her eye. Scarlett felt sorry for anyone who stood in her way. Said individual just so happened to be Sawyer.

Scarlett watched as Kate stormed over to where Sawyer was sitting. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was pretty clear that Kate wasn't planning on taking any crap from him. She just grabbed him, pulled him up, ignored whatever sarcastic comment he happened to throw her way, and shoved him off in the direction of the caves.

"You wanna come on our little field trip?" Sawyer asked Scarlett as he was ushered by. "I hear we get lollipops."

"Keep walking," Kate said seriously, though Scarlett knew she wasn't imagining the smile that was on Kate's face.

* * *

_Scarlett knelt in front of her mother's grave, looking sadly down at the flowers she had just replaced. Tears began to gather behind her eyelids, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall._

_"I miss you," she whispered sadly to her mother's presence. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. Just being near her mother's grave was comforting her, somehow._

_"Scarlett?" came Nattie's innocent voice. Scarlett turned around with surprise, looking at the little girl who stood in front of her, blonde curls bouncing around her head in the gentle breeze. _

_"Honey, I thought I told you to wait in the car," Scarlett said, smiling through her tears comfortingly._

_"Is that your mommy?" Nattie asked, kneeling beside Scarlett in the soft dirt. Scarlett smiled sadly and nodded. _

_"Yeah," she said. "That's my mommy."_

_Nattie gently reached out her hands and brushed her fingertips against the cold marble of the gravestone, a curiously interested expression on her face. After a while, she stopped, her palm flat against the stone. Scarlett watched her, her tears gone with her wonder. She wasn't sure what Nattie was doing. _

_"So that's what's going to happen to _my _mommy soon?" Nattie asked quietly. At once, the lump in Scarlett's throat intensified, and it was all that she could do to not let the tears fall. She knew she had to be strong for Nattie._

_"Yeah, baby," she said, draping her arm across the little girl's shoulders. "But don't worry. She'll be happy."_

_"I know," Nattie said, leaning into Scarlett and sighing. "I'm gonna miss her, I think."_

_"Yeah," Scarlett said quietly. "I will too."

* * *

_

They arrived at the caves a while later, already tired of hearing Sawyer complain constantly about how he didn't want to visit Jackass, and how the man would probably inject him with a syringe full of air.

"Just relax," Scarlett said as Kate walked over to Jack, that determined expression still on her face.

"The man's going to kill me," Sawyer growled to Scarlett. "Make no mistake, he's out to get me!"

Scarlett laughed and shook her head, looking at Sawyer scoldingly.

"You're paranoid," she said. Jack and Kate were then starting to walk over, so Scarlett and Sawyer ended their conversation quickly.

"Okay," Jack said reluctantly, as if it was the last thing on the planet that he wanted to do. "Come on, I'll check you out."

"I don't want you to _check me out_, doc," Sawyer said, smirking. "I get enough of that from Freckles here. But knowing what's causing these damn headaches…well, that would be just peachy, Jack. Gee, thanks."

Scarlett chuckled slightly, and Kate bit her lip and smiled as well. Jack just looked annoyed.

"Come on, you completely set yourself up for that one, Jack," Scarlett said teasingly. Jack smiled sarcastically and walked over to his little area, which was set up nicely in one corner of the caves. Sawyer looked at Scarlett, and the two of them rolled their eyes in a very similar fashion. Jack picked up a pen and started asking Sawyer a few questions, waving the pen in front of his eyes.

"So where do you think he is?" Kate asked, turning to Scarlett.

"Who, Boone?" Scarlett asked. Kate nodded. "Honestly, I'm really trying not to think about it."

"I'm sure he's fine," Kate said.

"Oh, I know he's _fine_," Scarlett said. "I'm just…I don't know…worried, I guess, about what's going to happen when he gets back."

"Yeah," Kate said sadly. "I would be too. But don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."

Scarlett nodded sadly and started to say something when she heard someone call her name from the other side of the caves. She turned and saw Jillian waving at her. She turned to Kate.

"I'll be back," she said. Kate nodded and turned to watch the examination. Scarlett headed over to Jillian.

"Hey," Jillian said, grinning. "I haven't seen you in a really long time,"

"Yeah," Scarlett said, frowning. "Where've you been?"

"Well, I was mostly with Randy," Jillian said. "Now that he's stopped being such prick, he's actually a really cool guy. We've been spending a lot of time together."

"That's cute," Scarlett said with a grin. "I'm glad."

"Me too," Jillian said, smiling. Then, her smile faded when she apparently remembered what it was that she had wanted to talk about. "I heard about what happened the other night. That's why I called you over. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Scarlett said, shrugging and trying to act like it wasn't a big deal. "Really, I'm okay."

"I'm glad to hear it," Jillian said, sighing with relief. "I was really worried when I heard. I mean, with all the weird stuff that's been going on, who knows."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, laughing. "Were you here at the caves?"

"Yeah," Jillian said. "I left really late for water, and it got really dark, so I just borrowed a blanket and crashed here. It's actually a pretty nice place."

"Yeah, it is," Scarlett said, laughing. "The sand's a lot more comfortable than the rock, though."

"Oh, _infinitely_ so," Jillian said with a laugh. "Where's your shadow?"

"What?" Scarlett asked, confused.

"Boone," Jillian said with a chuckle. "Okay, it was a horrible joke, I admit it, but I just couldn't help myself."

Scarlett smiled sadly.

"I'm not actually sure where he is," she said, causing Jillian to look at her with concern.

"Oh," Jillian said. "Is he off with Locke again?"

"I'm not sure," Scarlett said. "I mean, I _think _he probably is, but I'm honestly not sure at all." She sighed. "We got into a tiny fight last night, and when I woke up, he was gone."

Jillian nodded sadly.

"That's too bad," she said, fortunately seeming to sense that Scarlett didn't really feel like talking about it. "Well, I'm sure that things will work out."

"Yeah," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Of course."

Jillian could sense her uneasiness, but she decided not to say anything.

"If you need anything, feel free to ask," she said instead. "I'm gonna go find Alicia. I need to talk to her about some mangos."

"Okay," Scarlett said, grinning. She turned and walked back towards Sawyer, Kate, and Jack.

"What's that?" Sawyer was asking Jack when she got over there. "That nod?"

He was turned to face Jack, who was walking over to one of his little shelves.

"Will you just let him do his thing?" Kate asked in a voice that sounded extremely annoyed, which was actually pretty surprising to Scarlett.

"I'm letting him," Sawyer said patiently as Jack flipped through the pages of some notebook. "But I wanna know what the hell he thinks I sh…"

"I think you should just shut up and relax," Jack interrupted absently. He snapped his fingers in front of Sawyer's face, causing the other man to wince and back away.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, giving Jack a glare.

"Have you ever had a blood transfusion?" Jack asked emotionlessly.

"What?" Sawyer asked incredulously. Jack glanced up at him, annoyed.

"No," Sawyer quickly finished. Jack wrote that down.

"Taken pills for malaria," Jack said.

"Nope," Sawyer responded.

"Have you ever had sex with a prostitute?" Jack asked. Sawyer looked up at him, annoyed. Kate and Scarlett looked over as well, both of their faces surprised.

"What the hell's that got to do with anything?" Sawyer asked.

"Is that a yes?" Jack asked, still in that emotional tone, but there was a little flicker of amusement in his eyes.

"Oh, grow _up_," Scarlett groaned. "Jack, I realize it's probably _so _amusing to you to make Sawyer look like a complete ass in front of me and Kate, but honestly, just stop. It's not as amusing to the rest of us."

Kate smiled slightly and looked back down at the ground. Scarlett knew that though the other woman would have certainly never said something to Jack, she probably didn't really agree with his method of questioning either.

"I'm trying to give a thorough…" Jack started, gesturing to the notebook, but Scarlett cut him off.

"Oh, by all means, give him a thorough examination, but something tells me that cute little questions like that really _don't_ have anything to do with the examination other than the fact that you want to make him look bad. So just leave out anything you planned on throwing at him to embarrass him, okay?"

Jack turned back to Sawyer sullenly.

"I just need to know what's wrong with you," he said. Sawyer stood up.

"Fuck you," he sneered, and then he turned and walked away.

"I know he deserved it," Kate said with a slightly sad smile. "But…"

"He needs glasses," Jack said simply, no emotion whatsoever in his voice. Kate looked down at the ground, her smile disappearing as she waited for the inevitable explosion from Scarlett.

"Wow," Scarlett said, looking at Jack with disappointment in her gaze. "I never really expected much from you, but that was just disgustingly immature. Grow up and get over your little ego problem, Jack. I realize Sawyer's a little too cocky for your tastes, and maybe he isn't as nice to other people as he should be, but that's no reason to try to bring the man down. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be 'better' than him. How about this? You stop being such an asshole. Could you try that?"  
Giving him one last disgusted look, and even giving Kate a sadly disappointed look as well, Scarlett turned and walked after Sawyer, leaving the other two behind her.

"Wait!" Kate exclaimed, hurrying over to her, leaving Jack staring after them, looking slightly shocked. "I'm sorry if Jack upset you, but he was just joking…"

"No, he wasn't," Scarlett said, lowering her voice so that Jack couldn't hear. "He wasn't 'just joking', Kate. He obviously thinks he has some kind of competition with Sawyer for something." She gave Kate a pointed look. "I think it's pretty obvious what the prize is."

Scarlett turned and walked away from Kate, not waiting to see if the other woman had anything to say to that. As soon as she was out of sight of the caves, she started jogging. Up ahead, she could hear Sawyer walking through the underbrush. As she turned the corner in the path, she saw him up ahead, pushing aside the branches like a weed-whacker. When he heard her coming, he turned to see who she was.

"Runnin' out on the little laugh session early, Sox?" he asked bitterly.

"Hey," Scarlett said defensively slowing to a walk as she reached him. "I stuck up for you back there, remember?"

"Yeah," Sawyer said in a tone that clearly implied that it didn't matter _what _she had done; a bad mood was a bad mood, and he was currently suffering from one.

"If it makes you feel any better, Kate feels really bad about it," Scarlett said. "She completely walked away from Jack to follow me, but she got called back."

"What is she, a fucking dog?" Sawyer grumbled, though it was clear that that bit of information cheered him up considerably more than he would admit to.

"Jack's just an asshole," Scarlett pointed out. "I wouldn't worry about him."

"I'm not _worried _about him," Sawyer said with a laugh. "I'm just can't stand him."

Scarlett smiled at Sawyer, and the two of them fell into a companionable silence as they walked onwards towards the beach.

* * *

Locke and Boone had been trekking through the woods for a while before Boone had had enough. Locke was obviously having very big problems with his walking, though Boone knew that he would rather die than admit to it. He didn't _want _to say anything, since he knew it would only cause an unwanted argument, but it had gotten to the point that Boone just couldn't take it anymore.

"What's going on, John?" he asked finally.

"Nothing," Locke replied.

"You can barely walk, man," Boone said, concerned for his friend.

"It's the wound from the shrapnel," Locke answered absently, just as Boone somehow knew he would.

"That's your right leg, John," he answered automatically. "What's wrong with your left?"

"I'm fine," Locke practically shouted, getting annoyed with all the questions. "Now stop asking!"

Suddenly, Locke collapsed again. Boone hurried forward and grabbed his arm before he completely hit the ground.

"That's it," he said. "Let's go back."

"No, I'm fine. I'm fine," Locke said, annoyed.

"No, you're not," Boone retorted sharply. "Let me get you back to Jack."

Locke pulled out of Boone's grasp.

"No," he said. "Jack wouldn't know the first thing about what's wrong with me."

He struggled to his feet and took a few brave steps before falling again.

"John!" Boone exclaimed, grabbing him again. "We gotta get…"

"No! No!" Locke exclaimed, pulling back from Boone and landing on his back in the leaves.

"What is _wrong _with you?" Boone asked helplessly, his voice rising a few pitches. "Are you crazy?"

Locke looked at Boone evenly.

"I was in a wheelchair," he said simply.

"What?" Boone asked, shaking his head slightly, not understanding what Locke was saying or what it had to do with the fact that Locke was completely nuts.

"I was paralyzed for four years," Locke said. "The plane…our plane…I was in that chair when it took off, but not after we crashed."

Boone paused for a few moments, thinking that over.

"Why were you in a wheelchair?" he asked.  
"It doesn't matter anymore," Locke said with a slight smile. "But this island…it changed me. It made me whole. Now it's trying to take it back, and I don't know why." He pointed at Boone. "But it wants me to follow what I saw."

"What?" Boone asked incredulously, rolling his eyes slightly and standing up straight.

"I know it sounds crazy," Locke said with conviction. "Four weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself, but you and I are here for a reason. There's something that we were meant to find." Boone nodded slightly, thinking of Scarlett. It wasn't the first time he had thought that he was _meant _to be on that island for her. "Something that's gonna help us get into the hatch. I know it! But we gotta keep going."

Though the hatch certainly wasn't exactly what Boone was thinking of when he was thinking of reasons they were meant to be on the island, he understood where Locke was coming from. Maybe there was food in there to help the survivors, or maybe there was some kind of radio or something. He knew that Locke was probably thinking something along the lines of saving humanity and all that, but he really didn't think that whatever was in the hatch was that big of a deal. It was probably just some more dead bodies and a few broken assortments of something that was cutting edge technology fifteen years before. Things like that seemed to be in abundance on the island.

Still, he nodded. He knew that it was something that Locke needed to do, and who was he to deny Locke that right?

"Okay," he said. "Can you move your legs?"

"Just help me up, son," Locke replied, holding out his hand. Boone took it and pulled Locke up, and the other man rested heavily against his shoulder. Boone just bore the weight and wondered what exactly he was getting himself into.


	67. Deus ex Machina Part 4

Oooookay here we are. Update time.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again :D

**JimmyP:** I hope you did good on your Spanish :D. My Boone decision is nearly here indeed. I hate making decisions! We in the USA _did _get our Hanso ad. It was pretty cool! I got really excited when I saw it, hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Deus ex Machina (4): **There's Been An Accident

Scarlett sat down heavily and leaned back against the tree near she and Boone's possessions. Sawyer sat beside her, groaning as his joints popped.

"Hey, you wanna help me with something?" Scarlett asked suddenly, grinning.

"What would that be?" Sawyer asked, sounding wary.

"I think I should start building a shelter," Scarlett replied. "Me and Boone have been talking about it, but we never seem to have enough time to do it, what with him going off with Locke every day. It hasn't rained in a while, but if it does, then we're really in trouble."

"Don't you just usually storm into my tent and tell me you're stayin' the night?" Sawyer asked, smirking.

"Usually," Scarlett agreed. "But I want a place of my own, you know? And a really nice one, too, not like the shitty shelter you have."

"Hey!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"So, you wanna help?" Scarlett asked.

"Not really," Sawyer answered. "But I guess if I have to, I will."

"You have to," Scarlett said quickly. "Good! Guess that's settled. Come on, let's go get wood and stuff. Maybe I'll get Michael to take a break and help me out, too."

* * *

Boone and Locke carried on steadfastly through the jungle, Boone tirelessly carrying Locke as they went. Finally, Boone couldn't take it anymore. He lowered Locke to the ground, and then heavily flopped down nearby.

"She was my nanny," he said. Locke just looked at him, obviously confused. Boone clarified. "Theresa. She was my nanny." He tossed his backpack to the ground. "My mother wasn't around much. I needed someone to take it out on. My bedroom was at the top of this huge flight of stairs, and I would sit in bed all day calling her on the intercom. One day she took a bad step, broke her neck. I was six."

Locke stared at Boone for a long moment. Then, he began to laugh. Boone felt a little bit of rage growing inside of her. He knew he'd had it better than most people, and he knew Locke probably had way more baggage than a childhood trauma, but it was something that was real and hard for Boone to deal with, and to have Locke laughing at it was one of the most insulting things he had ever experienced.

He leaned forward and grabbed Locke's shirt, pulling him up. "So what the hell is so funny?" he growled.

Locke pointed over Boone's shoulder, and Boone turned and looked. A yellow Beechcraft was perched in the trees, on the edge of a cliff-like thing. Locke continued to laugh, and Boone let him go, turning to face the airplane with a smile of disbelief. He was really beginning to believe the whole 'the island has mysterious powers' thing. What were the chances that Locke should somehow know where the stupid Beechcraft was, anyway? Locke patted his hands and continued to laugh with joy. Boone just shook his head and smiled, looking up at the plane.

They sat like that for a while, until Locke finally stopped laughing and sat up. Boone got to his feet.

"Is that the plane you saw?" he asked.

"As best I can tell," Locke replied, leaning on his elbows and looking up at it with a smile on his face. Boone stepped forward, looking at the plane incredulously.

"You really saw it?" Boone asked.

"Yeah, I really saw it," Locke replied with a nod.

"How long do you think it's been there?" Boone asked, turning and looking at Locke.

"Doesn't matter," Locke replied. "What's important is that we found it. And what's important is what's inside it."

"What _is _inside of it, John?" Boone asked, turning to face the plane again, still scarcely believing that it was there.

"You're gonna have to climb up there for us and find out," Locke replied. Boone turned and looked at him incredulously. Locke just looked at him steadily, his eyes pleading with Boone. Boone turned and looked at the cliff wall. It was pretty steep, and the Beechcraft was a long way off the ground. He had never mentioned it to anyone on the island, but he had a pretty huge fear of heights.

However, as he turned and looked at Locke and saw the hope in the other man's eyes, he couldn't deny him. He had to do it.

"Okay," he said, and he walked towards the cliff. Locke smiled.

Boone walked to the cliff wall and let out a deep breath, pulling the picture of he and Scarlett out of his pocket. They were kissing, and they looked so happy. He had taken it from Scarlett's stash a while ago, but she hadn't seemed to notice it was missing, so he had kept it in his pocket ever since. It was like some form of a good luck charm. He could only hope that it would help him then.

* * *

Meanwhile, Scarlett and Sawyer walked back towards the spot where Scarlett planned to build, a small scrap of notebook paper clutched in Scarlett's hand. Michael had completely designed the perfect shelter, built for two. It was big enough, and even called for a little divider between the sleeping area and the living and eating area. Michael proudly called it his 'chateau d'amour', and had been given an excellent idea to help gather supplies for his raft; designs for houses in return for food and water.

"This ain't gonna be no easy thing," Sawyer reminded Scarlett. "I mean, the supplies should be easy to find; hell, they're all stuff in the jungle. But it's gonna take a long time, and there ain't no guarantee that this is gonna hold at all."

"Like we have anything better to do," Scarlett said, laughing. "Plus, I think this is an excellent design, and if we build it right, it should hold up just fine!"

"Whatever you say, Sox," Sawyer said with a small chuckle. "You go off into the jungle and play MacGyver. I'll wait here until you come back, all right?"

"Okay," Scarlett said with a smile. Sawyer pulled out a book from his back pocket and walked over to his shelter. Scarlett walked into the trees, holding the paper in her hands. She looked at it carefully. It said that she needed four base pieces of bamboo, and it gave how long they should be. She sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.

She heard footsteps behind her suddenly, and she whirled around. Eddie was standing behind her about fifteen feet away, looking surprised to see her.

"Hey," he said. "I wasn't really expecting anyone to be out here!"

"Me neither," Scarlett laughed nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"Thinking," Eddie said, smiling sadly. "I come out here a lot to just sit and think. Everyone needs their quiet time."

Scarlett smiled and nodded, still slightly uneasy. The bruise on Eddie's face seemed to stand out even darker against his pale complexion.

"Well, I'll see you around," Scarlett said, turning and walking quickly in the other direction.

"Later!" Eddie called, smiling after her.

* * *

Scarlett made it back to the beach just as she saw Jack kneeling in front of Sawyer, holding up a piece of paper. Sawyer had glasses on, and was reading the letters printed on the paper.

"Har, har, very funny," he muttered. Scarlett walked up and smiled.

"Dude," Hurley said. "Looks like someone steamrolled Harry Potter."

Kate laughed loudly.

"You love this, don't you?" Sawyer asked bitterly. Jack just smiled and patted Sawyer on the back.

"You're welcome," he said. Scarlett walked closer as Kate bent down and shrugged in an encouraging way.

"_I _think you look _adorable_," Scarlett said, giving Jack a smug look. She ruffled Sawyer's hair. "It gives you character."

Jack's face fell slightly; he was obviously disappointed that not everyone was mocking Sawyer. Though Scarlett didn't see why everyone _was_. He _did _look cute with the glasses on.

"You know, it does," Kate agreed, looking at Scarlett with a smile. Jack stormed away, the set of his shoulders telling just now annoyed he was. Scarlett smiled after him as Sawyer gave her a look of extreme gratitude.

* * *

_Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't…look…down…_

Boone forced himself to keep his eyes on his goal as he climbed steadily upward. It was a perilous climb, and he almost fell once or twice, but he managed to get to the plane eventually. He lowered himself down onto a wing a little harder than he had meant to, and it wobbled a little; obviously not very steady. Boone sucked in his breath a little, actually thinking for a moment that it was going to fall. Thankfully, he managed to right himself, and he poked his head in the window. The broken glass deterred him, so he moved to the door and managed to pull it completely off of its hinges. Tossing it down to the ground, he tried not to think of what would happen to _him _if he fell from that height.

Though everything in his mental willpower told him to not look down at the door, he couldn't help it. The door crashed into the ground, dented on a rather sharp rock, and Boone swallowed with fear before quickly crawling into the plane.

It was small and cramped, and quite cluttered with things. Nothing looked particularly interesting, though. He saw large, folded map, and he spread it out. There were two maps; one of Nigeria, and the other of the Sahara. Suddenly, the plane began to shift.

Boone yelled as he was thrown forward, and something landed on his back. He turned around to come face to face with a decaying and rotting corpse, grinning in death. He shouted and shoved the body off of him, panicking.

"Boone!" Locke shouted from down on the ground. Boone!"

"I'm fine!" Boone yelled back, standing up and making his way around the body. Then, he saw something. There were crates filled with Virgin Mary statuettes near the back of the plane. He walked over, looking at all the crates. There were huge amounts of them. For a moment, he didn't understand, until he saw that one of the statuettes was broken on the floor. Nestled among the shards of porcelain were little brown bags of heroin.

"Boone, what do you see?" Locke called from outside. "Boone!"

Boone's eyes narrowed.

"You wanna know what's in your damn plane, Locke?" he shouted. He grabbed one of the statues and walked over to the door, holding it up. "Here's your sign." With a small grunt, he threw the statue down to the ground. It shattered, and Boone glared at Locke before he walked back inside the plane. "They're drug smugglers, Locke! Heroin. That's all that's in here!"

He began to look through the airplane almost frantically, searching for something, _anything_, that would justify Locke's dragging him out into the woods. There were maps and old pieces of metal that looked like they might have belonged to something important. He worked his way to the front, growing desperate. Then, he spotted a radio.

Suddenly the plane shifted, and he was thrown forward a little. For one harrowing moment, he really thought the plane was going to fall, but then it stopped wobbling and steadied itself out a little.

"Boone! Boone, get out!" he heard Locke shouting, but he wasn't about to listen. He had hit his head on the seat, and his head was swimming a little bit with the pain, but he didn't really notice. He had to radio for help.

"Hello," he said into the radio. "Hello. Anybody out there? Mayday, mayday."

"Boone, there's no time!" Locke shouted. "Get out, now!"

"Is someone there?" asked a voice. Boone's eyes opened wide.

"Hello!" he shouted into the radio. "Hello! Can you hear me?"

"Repeat your transmission, please," the voice replied.

"Hello," Boone repeated. "We're survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815.

"Boone, get out!" Locke yelled.

"Please copy," Boone said.

"Hello…" said the voice from the radio again.

"Get out now!" Locke practically screamed. There was a burst of static, and then…

"No, _we're _the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815," said the voice. Boone's eyes widened in shock. He stared at the radio in his hands. Suddenly, the plane began to tilt again. In his dizzy state, he barely noticed. Suddenly, he saw something on the floor. It was the picture of he and Scarlett. He bent down to pick it up, and that's when it happened.

* * *

From the ground, Locke saw the small airplane topple nose-first into the ground. The tail end of the plane completely toppled over the front, and it came to a flat halt on the ground with a harsh thump. For a few moments, Locke was in shock. There was no movement coming from within the fallen Beechcraft. Locke knew that if Boone was still alive, he would be very badly injured. He swore under his breath, praying to the island to keep Boone safe.

Gathering all the willpower he could muster, he struggled to his feet, grunting and screaming in frustration. His efforts paid off, and he was able to limp towards the plane. After a few desperate running steps, he fell to the ground, but pulled himself back up and kept going.

He got to the empty hole where the door used to be, and practically threw himself inside. He saw Boone lying on the floor of the plane, covered by suitcases and boxes and other pieces of debris. Panting with desperation, he heaved the pieces of debris off of the younger man. Boone blinked, making a small noise in his throat that may have been an attempt to speak. He didn't move, other than that. Locke grabbed him by the blood-covered arm and heaved him out of the airplane, his fear mounting. Once he got Boone out of the plane, he gave a shout of exertion and pulled Boone over his shoulders, frightened at how limp the other man was. Then, forcing himself to move, he walked back in the direction of camp with Boone.

* * *

Scarlett sat with Claire at the beach, chatting amiably with the other woman. Claire's hand ran nervously over her swollen stomach. Scarlett noticed and frowned at her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Claire said, shrugging. "I'm just…tired, that's all. A little worried about the baby."

"Yeah," Scarlett said. "Don't worry, the baby's going to be fine. We have Jack here. He sees to be a pretty capable doctor."

"Yeah…" Claire said slowly. "But the only thing we've seen him do is work on that marshal guy. And need I remind you, _he _didn't make it."

"That guy was so far beyond help, people were telling Jack to not even bother," Scarlett said. "But Jack isn't the type to give up, and he didn't. He kept going even when there was so little hope that there wasn't even a point to trying anymore. But your baby won't be beyond help. You won't be. Everything's going to be fine."

Claire sighed and nodded sadly.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I know. I'm just…I don't know, maybe every pregnant woman gets like this."

"Probably," Scarlett said. "I personally wouldn't know. I've never been pregnant, and the only other woman I really knew who was pregnant was my friend Carrie. She…she wasn't one to share her fears."

Scarlett smiled sadly, and Claire saw the remorse in her eyes. She knew there was more to that story, but she didn't want to ask.

"I'm just afraid," Claire said. "Not having my family with me when it happens. I always wanted my mother to be by my side, like her mother was there for me. I wanted that to be something we could share. We…we never really shared much."

"I'll be there," Scarlett promised, smiling. "When the baby's born, I'll be there. I know I'm not exactly your mother…but I'll do."

Claire smiled at Scarlett gratefully.

"Yeah," she said. "Thanks, Scarlett. It's good to know you care."

"Of course I care," Scarlett replied. "I care a lot."

Claire smiled and leaned back against the tree she was sitting against, looking a lot more relaxed. Scarlett leaned back a little as well, letting herself relax, too. Then, she and Claire sat there and watched the waves.

"I have to go take care of something," Scarlett said suddenly. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Claire said. "Take your time."

Scarlett turned and started towards the caves, a purpose in mind.

* * *

She reached the caves a while later to see that Jack and Kate were sitting down and talking.

"Thank you for helping," Kate was saying. "I know it's probably the last thing you wanted to do."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Scarlett walked up at that moment.

"Jack," she said. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Jack said. "About what?"

"I…" Scarlett began, but suddenly Locke called Jack's name from behind them. Everyone turned to look at the older man just as he appeared around the corner. Scarlett saw that he was holding someone over his shoulders. When she realized that it was Boone, she screamed.

Kate ran to Scarlett's side and put her arm around shoulders, leading her away slightly as Jack ran over to Locke, who was getting ready to put Boone down. He was bleeding pretty badly.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Scarlett asked, panicking.

"No, no, no, no," Jack said quickly to Locke. "Put him down right here." He pointed to an area, and Locke hurried over to it. "All right. All right, that's it."

Together, they managed to lower Boone to the ground.

"Locke, what happened?" Scarlett asked firmly. Kate grabbed onto her tighter, as if she was going to go anywhere. As if she could.

"Easy, easy," Jack said. He put his ear to Boone's mouth, checking to see if he was breathing.

"Is he breathing?" Scarlett asked with fright. Jack nodded.

"What happened?" he asked Locke.

"There was an accident," Locke said. "Boone fell off a cliff out near the place we were hunting."

Scarlett looked at Locke with narrowed eyes. She knew that he was keeping something from Jack. She knew that they hadn't been hunting, and she would have bet anything that there wasn't even a cliff. She knew, however, that nothing would be solved by outing Locke's little secret in front of everyone. She just looked back down at Boone and focused on praying for him to be all right.

Jack reached down and tore Boone's shirt open. Scarlett gasped when she saw his chest. It was shredded and covered in blood and dirt and God-knew-what-else. She closed her eyes, tears leaking from under the eyelids.

"Oh my God," she whispered. Kate swallowed, looking sickened, and pulled Scarlett into a tight hug.

"Don't cry," Kate whispered. "Jack will fix him. Jack will fix him."

Scarlett forced herself to look away from Boone's injuries, and she looked accusingly at Locke. He gazed at her sadly, then hung his head. Scarlett looked back at Boone.

"Okay," Jack said, taking a deep breath and then letting it out with a determined glint in his eye that doctors always seemed to have. He turned to Kate. "I'm gonna need some water. Shirts, towels, anything that I can used to stanch the bleeding."

"Okay," Kate said. "Okay."

Kate didn't move, however. She just stared down at Boone, shock written on her features. Jack looked at her harshly.

"Kate! Now! Please."

Kate turned and went to get the stuff. Scarlett, without her support, collapsed to a sitting position on the ground, her legs just giving out on her. She managed to get to her feet, and she walked up to Boone and Jack.

"John, tell me exactly what happened," Jack said, turning to get supplies. Scarlett glanced over towards where Locke had been standing at the back of the caves only a moment before. But Locke was gone.

"Jack!" Scarlett exclaimed. Jack turned.

"John?" Jack asked. There were a few people standing further back in the caves, watching everything with dazed expressions, but Locke wasn't among them. "Locke!" Jack yelled. "Locke!"

Kate turned and looked for him as well, water and rags in her hands.

"Locke!" Scarlett yelled.

"Locke!" Jack shouted. There was no answer. Locke was gone.

Scarlett, shaking and white as a sheet, turned to Jack.  
"What are we gonna do?" she asked helplessly.

"Don't worry," Jack said, turning towards Boone. "He's going to be fine."

Scarlett put her head in her hands and tried to believe that.

* * *

_Scarlett tiredly rested back against the waiting room chair, taking a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup in her hands. Christian sat at the little plastic table across from her, smiling at her sadly._

_"We're doing everything we can," he said. "But at this point, the most we can do for her is make sure that she's not in any pain."_

_"I understand," Scarlett said, closing her eyes and sighing._

_"You know, I get a lot of grieving family in here," Christian said, looking at her with something akin to respect in his gaze. "I get husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters…nieces and nephews…friends, acquaintances. It's part of my job to tell them that their families are dying. It's one of the hardest things in life, I think, to tell people that someone they love is dying. But I think that telling you has been the hardest of all."_

_"Why's that?" Scarlett asked, interested._

_"Because you remind me of my son," Christian said, looking her in the eye steadily. "Because I know that what you're feeling right now, that's exactly what he would be feeling for me if I was the one who was dying."_

_Scarlett smiled sadly at Christian._

_"You have a son?" she asked. She had never pictured the emotionless doctor as a family man._

_"My boy," Christian said, smiling slightly. "Though he's hardly a boy anymore. He's a doctor, like me."_

_"That's good to know," Scarlett said._

_"You never know, he might save your life one day," Christian said with a smile. "Just remember to tell him I sent you."_


	68. Do No Harm Part 1

Here we are again, boppers. Newwww chapter! I've almost finished with this episode. I'm running behind a little, as you can probably tell. I just haven't had much time for writing.

Thannks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again!

**Tasha: **Ewww exams! Hahahaha sounds like you had fun getting drunk though! That definitely paints a pretty interesting picture in my mind! And ooooooh man I so know how you feel. The guy I like is friendly with everyone too, so it's really hard to tell what he's thinking. Like, this kid has pushed me up against a tree with his arms around my waist, has leaned into me really close, kissed my forehead and both cheeks and whispered 'wow, babe, I could kiss you' allll while he had a girlfriend. And he doesn't see anything wrong with that. Overly friendly people can be a problem, I so agree. And I hope that your man falls madly madly in love with you as well and stops being confusing and giving all the wrong signs :D  
hehe, I can't kill Boone? That sounds like a challenge to me, missy. You sure you wanna challenge me on that one!  
Yes, we are going to find out who attacked Scarlett. All of that other stuff, I can't answer you. But we do find out who attacked Scarlett, in this episode, in fact.  
Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP:** hahaha are you sure you're okay? You might wanna keep an eye on that heart for a while. I hope everything's disappointing in a good way! Hahaha  
Ewww Henry! He really scares me, haha. I'm glad he's gone, for now.  
Ahhh, Michael! My jaw was on the floor definitely as well. Like first Ana getting shot, and then Libby, and then I was beginning to slowly recover and then he shot himself and AHHH! Oh Lord that was horrible, but sooo good! Hahaha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Do No Harm (1): **Can't Be Happening

Scarlett felt like she was in one of her horrible nightmares. Jack pushed past her, grabbing a scalpel from off of the tray. People were gathering around, rushing forward to get a glimpse of Boone and gasping with horror when they saw who it was. Kate pushed past her, and then walked back again. Scarlett couldn't move. She could only stare at Boone in horror and watch as he gasped for breath, his eyes wide and unfocused.

"Scarlett!" Jack exclaimed suddenly, snapping her out of her trance. "Hey, focus, okay? Grab the cushion and help us lift it up."

Scarlett hurried over to the cushion and bent down, so close to Boone that she could smell the blood and the sweat. Part of her was threatening to faint, but she managed to grab onto the cushion Boone was lying on, shaking.

"It's gonna be okay," Kate said as Hurley hurried up. Kate tossed Scarlett a rag, and she held it on Boone's chest, her arm shaking and soon covered in blood.

"Lift!" Jack exclaimed. Eddie joined the effort, helping to lift Boone into the air. They started moving deeper into the caves.

"Come on, get out of the way!" Jack yelled to the people gathering in a circle around them. "I need room!" They hurried as fast as they could without jostling Boone too much. "Keep him steady!"

Sun got on the other side of Scarlett and looked at her wordlessly, helping to carry the load.

"Boone, can you hear me?" Kate asked gently. "It's okay, we got you."

"What happened?" Hurley asked, jogging after them.

"He fell down a cliff," Kate answered. Scarlett brushed her hair out of her eyes, unknowingly smearing blood on her forehead. She returned her hand to applying pressure on Boone's chest. He wheezed in response, his head lolling and his eyes glazed over in pain. Hot tears began to run down her face.

"But he was with Locke," she heard Hurley say dimly.

"Yeah," Kate said under her breath skeptically.

"Keep him steady, now," Jack reminded everyone.

"He's bleeding a lot," Hurley said worriedly.

"I know he's bleeding," Jack said. "Keep him steady, dammit!" He turned to look at Kate, who was helping Scarlett apply the pressure on Boone's chest. "You gotta press harder than that, Kate."

"I'm trying," Kate responded, sounding annoyed. Hurley grabbed onto the back end of the makeshift stretcher.

"All right," Jack said calmly. "Slow, now. Slow and gentle."

The group of survivors carrying the cushion gently laid it down on the ground.

"Easy!" Jack exclaimed.

Scarlett looked down at Boone, breathing heavily. He was staring right through her, his blue eyes a nearly clear crystalline white. Jack gently brushed her out of the way and bent down over Boone, feeling for his pulse. Scarlett took a step back and closed her eyes, the tears streaming down her face again. Kate tightly wrapped her arms around Scarlett again.

"It's gonna be okay," Kate said with determination.

"Sun, a pair of scissors in the second drawer of the cart," Jack said to Sun. Sun just stared at Boone for a moment. Jack looked up and saw that she wasn't moving. "Second drawer!" he yelled.

Sun jumped a little with surprise and then hurriedly opened the second drawer, sifting through the other instruments to get to the scissors. She handed them to Jack quickly.

"Diapers in the first drawer," Jack said, a lot quieter this time. Scarlett pulled away from Kate and bent down over Boone, applying the pressure to his chest again. Jack looked at her approvingly. He picked up the scissors and turned to Kate, who was bending down to help Scarlett. "Sun's gonna switch places with you," he said. "Sun, I need…"

"Yes, I understand," Sun replied, already moving around the cushion to take Kate's place. Kate and Scarlett took their rags off of Boone's chest, and Sun applied the fresh diapers.

"Hurley, grab me that first class seat from up there," Jack said in his authoritative voice. "Also, I need that mesh. We need to create some sort of sterile…" He stopped talking, and everyone looked at Hurley. He was looking down at Boone with a sickened expression. "Hurley, I swear to God if you faint…"

"No, first class. Mesh. I'm cool," Hurley said, starting to walk off. "Lord in Heaven…"

Scarlett sank down next to Boone and Sun, running her hand through Boone's hair, trying to keep herself under control. Jack's determination was soothing her slightly, but Boone's breathing was bad and it was only getting worse.

Jack turned to Kate.

"Get to the beach," he said. "Ransack Sawyer's stuff. I want his alcohol. Rubbing, scotch…"

Jack was cut off as Boone started making choking noises. Scarlett's eyes widened.

"Jack," she said worriedly. He turned and looked at Boone, a look of dread coming over his features. His hands went up to the side of Boone's face. Boone was inhaling, but not exhaling. "What's wrong with him?" Scarlett asked, panicking.

"Jack, what's going on?" Kate asked nervously. Jack glanced up at Scarlett, then looked back down as if afraid to look at her. He put his hands on Boone's chest and listened to him breathe.

"His lung just collapsed," he said. Scarlett's eyes went wide with fear, and she looked down at Boone, who was staring at the sky, doing everything he could just to take in another breath. She put her hand on his arm, gripping it tightly, needing to just hold on to part of him as if that would somehow make everything better. "Okay," Jack said calmly after a moment, getting to his feet and retrieving a bottle of peroxide. The same bottle, Scarlett thought wistfully, that he had used to treat Boone's injuries when Sawyer attacked him.

Jack returned to his position near Boone and he uncapped the peroxide, pouring it on Boone's chest.

"What are you doing?" Scarlett asked in a hushed voice. Jack just felt along Boone's chest, his hand hovering over a particular spot. Suddenly, he raised a piece of metal that he was holding in his hands, and placed the tip against Boone's chest. Scarlett realized what he was going to do, and she grabbed Boone's hand in her own. Jack brought the metal up, and then plunged it into Boone's chest.

Sun closed her eyes and looked away. Scarlett gasped and clutched Boone's hand, slightly encouraged when his hand tightened on her own. Kate just stared, her mouth open and her eyes watering slightly.

Air hissed out of the lung, and Boone slowly let out the breath he had been holding in. He began to draw long breaths; still wheezing, but no longer choking.

"Okay," Jack said, sounding relieved. "Okay. Good, Boone. Good, Boone. That's good. Good job." He pulled the metal spike out of Boone's chest. "All right, I'm gonna put a tube in that, and you're gonna be just fine."

Jack got up to get the tube, and Sun returned to applying pressure. Scarlett grasped Boone's hand and stroked his hair with her bloody fingers, her eyes unable to leave his broken body. The tears fell freely down her face, unchecked, and she couldn't suppress a sob.

"What are you still doing here?" Jack asked Kate. She stared at him wordlessly. "The alcohol, Kate," Jack reminded her. "If you want him to live get to the beach! Now!"

Kate turned and swiftly ran away. Jack brought the tube over for Boone and inserted it into his lung, sighing heavily.

"He's going to be all right," he said to Scarlett suddenly. "Don't worry. I'll help him, okay?"

"Okay," Scarlett whispered, holding Boone's hand to her chest.

"Just sit there and do that, okay?" Jack said quietly. "Just hold his hand. Talk to him. Let him know you're here. We want him to fight."

Scarlett nodded and sniffled lightly, bending over Boone's face as Jack moved down to his leg, ripping his pant leg open. She ran her hand over the top of his head again.

"I'm right here, Boone," she whispered brokenly to him as he continued to breathe. His eyes focused in on her for the first time, and she saw the recognition in them. "I'm right here and I'm going to help you, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Please, just be okay. Be okay, for me."

She gazed at him sadly, and he took in another deep breath, closing his eyes. Jack ripped the pant leg open violently, trying to pretend that he wasn't affected by Scarlett's whispers to Boone.

"It hurts," Boone whispered hoarsely. Scarlett tightened her grip on his hand, turning to look at his leg. It looked broken. It was purple and swollen. Sun closed her eyes and looked away.

"It's a closed fracture, but I think I can set it," Jack said simply.

"His chest," Sun said, pointing. "The wound. Can you…uh…sew him?" She motioned with her hands.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Jack replied, moving to look at Boone's chest. "I don't know how far Locke had to carry him. Excuse me, Scarlett."

Scarlett backed off a little as Jack bent forward to check Boone for head injuries.

"It hurts," Boone moaned again.

"Boone, listen to me," Jack said with determination. "Listen! You are not gonna die. I'm gonna fix this, okay?" He looked at Boone for a moment. "I am going to save you."

Jack looked at Scarlett, and Scarlett looked back at Jack; and for the first time, Scarlett appreciated what he was doing.

"Thank you," she whispered. Jack just nodded and turned back to looking at Boone's leg.

* * *

Kate ran out of the trees, frantically looking around for Sawyer. Fortunately, she spotted him sitting under a tree with Michael.

"Sawyer!" she exclaimed, panting. Sawyer looked up at her with concern. "I need all your alcohol. Now!"

She kept running to Sawyer's shelter, and he got up after her, frightened.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, jogging after her.

"Boone's hurt," Kate answered as they ran towards Sawyer's shelter. "Jack needs your alcohol. I have to go as fast as I can."

"Hurt?" Sawyer asked, immediately afraid for his friend. "How bad?"

"Bad," Kate answered.

"Could he…?" Sawyer asked, trailing off. Neither of them needed or wanted to hear the rest of that sentence.

"Yeah," Kate replied. "It's bad."

Sawyer bent down and opened the suitcase where he kept all the liquor, starting to gently place the bottles in Kate's backpack.

"How'd it happen?" he asked.

"Locke said that…uh…he fell off a cliff while they were out hunting boar."

"The boar they never seem to get?" Sawyer asked pointedly.

He finished giving her all of his alcohol bottles. Kate looked around hopelessly.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so," Sawyer replied. Kate started putting her backpack over her shoulder. "Do you need anything else?" He stood up. "I can come with you."

"Too many cooks already," Kate replied quickly. Then, she smiled at him, admittedly slightly surprised that he was offering his services. "But thanks."

She started walking back towards the jungle.

"Hey, Kate," Sawyer said suddenly. She turned and looked at him.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Tell Scarlett I'm here if she needs me," Sawyer said. "And tell Jackass…tell him to fix my boy."

"I will," Kate said, smiling slightly. Then, she turned and jogged off into the jungle.

* * *

Back at the caves, Jack was sewing up Boone's chest. Scarlett held onto his hand the entire time, in case he needed to squeeze it or something, but he didn't flinch once. She looked at Jack nervously.

"Don't worry," he said. "He's just in a lot of pain right now. He barely even notices."

"Isn't there anything you can give him?" Scarlett asked, her eyes brimming with tears. She didn't like the thought of Boone in pain.

"No," Jack said simply.

"I'm sorry," Boone rasped, turning his head slightly. "I'm really sorry."

Scarlett saw Hurley and a few other people starting to set up the mesh, so she hurried over to help them. They silently handed her things to set up, thankfully speaking no words of sympathy or encouragement. Hurley looked at her knowingly, then wrapped his arms around her in what was probably the most oddly comforting hug she had ever received.

"Thanks, Hurley," she whispered quietly.

"He needs blood," she heard Jack say suddenly.

"What?" Sun gasped.

"Blood," Jack said. Scarlett walked over quickly. "Transfusion.

"How will you do…?"

"I don't know," Jack said. "I'll figure it out." He walked over to the drawer and pulled something out that Scarlett couldn't quite see. Scarlett put her hands to her head. Her forehead and her arms were stained red from Boone's blood, but she couldn't even begin to care or even remember that just an hour ago, she had possessed a deadly fear of all things blood. Jack looked down at Boone decisively. "After I set the leg."

Jack uncapped the bottle, walking over to Boone's leg. Sun watched him for a moment, then grabbed what was probably the only clean cloth in the vicinity.

"Let me," she said quietly.

"No, it's okay," Jack said. Sun just walked over and took the bottle from him.

"Let me," Sun said again, this time with more insistence in her voice. Jack looked at her, seemingly about to retort angrily, but then he just nodded ever so slightly. "Get some air," Sun said. "Me and Scarlett will handle this."

Jack glanced at Scarlett, and then looked back at Sun, finally nodding and exhaling heavily. For a moment, he paused and put his hand on Scarlett's shoulder, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but couldn't think of the words to say. Then, he turned and walked out towards the caves. He walked past Charlie, who was helping to set up the mesh around Boone.

"How is he?" Scarlett heard Charlie ask, and then she turned back to Sun.

"Okay," she said, letting out a heavy breath. "What do we do?"

* * *

_Scarlett stepped into the hospital room quietly, holding a vase of flowers in her hands. Carrie's eyes were closed, and her head was tilted to one side, as if she was listening for something. _

_"Is she sleeping?" Scarlett asked Christian. The older man nodded._

_"She's been sleeping a lot," he said. "Always asks about you when she's awake, though. Asks how you're doing."_

_Scarlett smiled slightly and put the flowers down on the bedside table, taking the old flowers away and handing them to Stephen, who then walked out of the room with them._

_"I don't want to wake her…" she said, feeling guilty that Carrie hadn't even been awake for her visit. _

_However, just as Scarlett was turning to go, Carrie began to stir, and then her eyes blinked open slowly. She looked around the room, disoriented for a few moments, before her eyes rested on Scarlett._

_"There you are, sweetie," she said with a small smile. Christian smiled at Scarlett and made his way out of the room silently. Scarlett smiled at Carrie and moved forward to stand in front of the bed._

_"How are you feeling?" she asked out of force of habit, though they both knew that Carrie wasn't feeling well at all._

_"Better," Carrie answered with a smile, though it was obviously a lie. Scarlett smiled._

_"Good," she said, though she didn't believe Carrie's words. It was like a routine for them; every day they would exchange the same words, as if there was any hope of them becoming true._

_"Have you visited Nattie at all today?" Carrie asked. "She hasn't been in to see me for a while."_

_"I took her to visit my mother at the cemetery," Scarlett said. "While Dan came here to see you. I don't think she likes the hospital very much."_

_"She never did," Carrie said with a small chuckle. "Ever since that time she broke her wrist, she's been terrified of it. Though she was so young, I bet she scarcely remembers much at all."_

_"Sometimes that's scary enough on its own; not being able to remember much of it," Scarlett pointed out, putting her purse on the ground and sitting in the chair beside Carrie's bed. Carrie looked at her with pride in her gaze, and then she smiled._

_"Christian was talking to me earlier today…he asked me about my relationship to you. He said…he said that you told him I was your mother."_

_Scarlett nodded, tears prickling in her eyes. _

_"I did," she whispered brokenly. _

_"I know I could never replace your mother," Carrie said softly. "I know how much she meant to you. But I tried to be there for you. I tried to be a friend."_

_"You were much more than just a friend," Scarlett said with conviction. "You were everything that my mother never did for me. My mother was my hero, my friend, my sister. _You _are my _mother_. You never let your own needs and wants overshadow mine. My mother did that all too often. I think you're more of a mother than she could ever hope to be. And for that, I am _so _thankful, Carrie. I needed you in my life to show me what I have to do."_

_Carrie listened to this with tears in her eyes, and when Scarlett finished, she gently closed them and let the tears slowly trickle down her face. Scarlett was crying as well, as she watched her. _

_"That's all I ever wanted," she said quietly. "To be a mother. I know I can't be much of a mother to Nattie, now. I thought I had lost my only chance at my dream."_

_Scarlett shook her head, smiling through her tears. She grasped Carrie's cold and shaking hand._

_"You are a mother to me," she whispered. "You didn't fail."_

_And then she embraced Carrie, and the two of them cried together for what would happen.

* * *

_

Sun walked away a few minutes later, telling Scarlett that she had to go find something. Scarlett sat beside Boone, looking down at him with her heart breaking inside as he drew breath after laboring breath. She took his hand in hers and bit her lip.

"I know you can hear me," she whispered gently. "And I promise you that I'm going to get you through this. You're going to get through this. I will give whatever it takes to make sure you're okay." She reached out her hand that wasn't already grasping Boone's, and she ran it through his hair lovingly.

Suddenly, Jack walked around the mesh, which was finally set up around the area.

"Okay," he said, letting out a huge whoosh of a sigh. He put his hand on top of his head and looked around for a few seconds, his eyes finally resting on Scarlett. "I want you to wait outside."

"I can't leave him," Scarlett said quietly, shaking her head.

"Just for a few seconds," Jack said. "I don't want you to be here when we set the leg."

"He needs me here," Scarlett said desperately.

"He wouldn't want you to be here," Jack pointed out, and Scarlett knew that he was right. Had Boone been in any mind to talk to her, he would have told her that she should leave. And she would have left, because it would have been what he wanted.

"Okay," she said, standing up slowly. She started to walk past the mesh, but Jack stopped her, putting a hand on both of her shoulders.

"It's going to be all right," he said to her. She looked up at him, up to the man she had been annoyed with for the past month, the man she had taunted and badmouthed both behind his back and to his face, and she realized that he was a better man than she had ever thought. He was so determined to help Boone, and he was doing it in part for her, though she had never done anything for him in the short time that they had known one another. She suddenly realized what a good man he really was, though she often ignored it or just didn't notice it.

"I believe you," she said, knowing that those words would mean more to him than anything else. "I trust you."

Jack nodded, and Scarlett could see that her words made him stronger. They gave him new purpose to succeed. Now that she was counting on him, he was going to do everything in his power to make Boone better. It was the old hero complex coming out again, but this time it was working to everyone's advantage.

Scarlett turned and walked past the mesh, away from Boone and Jack and Sun. She considered sitting next to Hurley, but then she just kept walking. It was like some invisible force was forcing her to keep moving, though she had never been in the trees in the direction she was going. She suddenly wanted to be lost in the foliage, away from everything. She wanted to drown out Boone's screams that she knew would be coming when Jack set the leg. She wanted to hide, and though she was ashamed of herself for it, hiding was exactly what she was going to do.

She was shaking as she walked swiftly through the trees, and then she began to run. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to get away from those caves. She had to get away from what she couldn't handle.

Suddenly, as she was running, she tripped and fell, sprawling on the ground. Everything suddenly hit her all at once, and she began to cry into the ground, not caring who saw her or even where she was. All she could think about was the look on Boone's face; the pain in his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to take all of that pain away, but she felt so lost and confused, she couldn't even get to her feet.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, wiping the moisture from her face. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the light that was pouring down from the trees above, and she could see something in front of her face. A closer examination revealed that it was a single white flower.

* * *

Kate ran through the trees as fast as her tired legs could carry her, her vision blurred by the tears that still lined her eyelids. She would never know if it was because she was rushing, or because of her impaired vision, but for whatever reason, she tripped and fell to the ground, somehow landing on her back. She gasped with fear when she heard some of the glasses breaking, her eyes filling with even more tears.

"Oh, God," she whispered, getting to her feet. "Oh no, come on…"

She looked inside the bag and saw with horror that several of the bottles were broken. She picked up a piece of broken glass hopelessly and then threw it back into the bag again, frustrated and horribly mad at herself. Suddenly, she heard a whimper somewhere in the trees. She froze, staring into the undergrowth and trying to detect movement. There was nothing.

Slowly, she moved off to see what was making the noise. Another whimper sounded, and she moved off the path to wander through the plants. Then, she saw something blue showing brightly through the trees. She pushed through the leaves quietly and saw that it was Claire. She was leaning against a fallen tree, holding her stomach and breathing heavily.

"Claire?" Kate asked to announce her presence, concerned for the other woman. She hadn't spoken to her many times since they had been on the island, but she _did_ know that Claire was pregnant. She started walking towards her warily. "What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing," Claire said shortly, bending over slightly and making a face. "Just leave me alone. Please."

Kate was offended for a few moments before she realized that Claire was holding onto her stomach and her hand was curling around one of the branches of the tree, obviously in a lot of pain. She suddenly realized what was happening.

"Oh God," she said. "You're having the baby." She put her backpack down on the ground slowly, as if she were about to approach a dangerous animal rather than a relatively mild mannered Australian woman. She moved over to Claire, putting one hand on her shoulder and reaching the other towards Claire's expansive stomach. "Uh…Claire," she said gently. "We need to get you back to camp."

Claire squirmed out of Kate's touch, looking uncomfortable.

"No," she said firmly. "I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath…" She sat back against the tree.

"It's not okay!" Kate exclaimed. "You're having your baby!"

"No, I'm not, okay? It's just gas pains," Claire asserted. "It's fine."

"You're having contractions, Claire!" Kate exclaimed.

"No!" Claire shot back. "I'm bloody not! Can you just leave me alone?"

Part of Kate just wanted to leave Claire right there, the way the other woman was acting. However, she knew that not only was that a horrible thing to even consider, but it was probably just the pain that was making Claire so irritable anyway.

"Come on," she said soothingly. "I gotta get you to Jack. Please, try to stand. Please."

"Look, I can't!" Claire shouted through clenched teeth. Kate looked around helplessly, knowing full well that she couldn't leave Claire alone, but she couldn't get the other woman to move, either.

"Help!" she shouted, hoping desperately that someone would hear her. "Somebody help!"


	69. Do No Harm Part 2

Sorry about the lateness. I've been really busy!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again!

**JimmyP:** LUCKY! I still have school for like…three more weeks, hahaha. I definitely agree about the hating of exams. Blech. Yup, the white flower was from a bunch of Scarlett's dreams. Yeah, Scarlett definitely isn't someone who would just stand there and let him die. She's more of an involved woman. Thanks for reviewing!

**POLL TIME! **Okay, so since we're getting close….Boone: Live or die? Your opinion! Review it!

* * *

**Do No Harm (2):** Go Back

Scarlett gasped as she looked around, slowly raising herself to her knees and looking around in utter disbelief. She was kneeling in a clearing filled with white flowers. The clearing from her dreams.

"Oh my God," she whispered, so shocked that she found herself unable to move; barely able to breathe. It was impossible; it couldn't be true. All of her dreams that had taken place in that clearing, all of them had lead to that moment. That moment when she needed refuge. It had always been a safe place for her to go.

She looked around, taking in the details that she had noticed in all her dreams. She couldn't believe that she was standing there, the ground firm under her feet. Only this time, there was no Stephen whispering false promises. There was no Carol warning her against danger to come. There was no Carrie telling her that she had to leave. There was none of that, only she and the flowers and the gentle breeze blowing through the trees. She wanted to stay there forever. She never wanted to leave the safety of that place. As long as she was there, the world beyond it might as well have not existed. She could pretend that Boone was fine. She could pretend that anything about her life made sense. She could even pretend that she had never known any kind of pain.

The grass below her feet called to her. She wanted nothing more than to lay down and stay there forever in the softness of the field and forget about all of her troubles. But then, as she was about to lay down and cry, she remembered Carrie's look of disappointment when, in her dream, Scarlett had run into the field.

Suddenly, the dreams made sense to Scarlett. She didn't know if they were _meant_ to mean anything, but to her it was all very clear. She wasn't supposed to be in the clearing at all. She wasn't supposed to stay in the 'safe place', as it was so often called in her dreams. She was supposed to be back at the infirmary, facing her fears and taking control of Boone's fate.

With determination, she turned and walked back towards the caves, her face set into stone and her eyes burning a hole on the path ahead.

* * *

"Help!" Kate screamed. "Help! Somebody please help!"

"Kate, stop it!" Claire exclaimed, grinding her teeth together in pain even as she said it. "I don't need help!"

"Yes you do," Kate retorted shortly. "Help! Help! Please help! Somebody!"

"Stop!" Claire said with exasperation. "No one's going to hear you anyway!"

"Help!" Kate yelled in response, not even turning to look at Claire.

"Stop!" Claire said, even then crying out in pain. She sat down heavily on one of the logs nearby. Kate turned towards her.

"Hey, it's okay," she said quickly. "Someone's bound to…"

In response, she heard a slight 'oh' behind her. She turned, seeing Jin standing behind her, looking at them with wide eyes.

"Jin!" she said happily, walking over to him. Jin glanced at her. She looked at him urgently. "I need you to go to the caves and get Jack, okay?" Jin looked over at Claire, distracted by the sound of the woman's whimpering. Kate sighed. "You understand?" Jin looked at her, the look on his face displaying clearly that he did _not _understand at all. "We need Jack!"

"Jack," Jin said, comprehending. "Doctor."

"Yes!" Kate said, excited. "Yes, the doctor." She turned. "Please come here." She moved over to her backpack and picked it up.

"Don't leave me," Claire said, panicking.

"Oh, no, no, honey," Kate said quickly, immediately filled with sympathy for the poor girl once she heard the frightened tone in her voice. "I won't. I'm not going anywhere, okay? I promise." She turned to Jin and handed him the backpack. "Jack," she said simply. "Hurry."

Jin looked at Claire for another short moment, and then he turned and ran for the caves.

* * *

Sun bent over Boone, looking at him with sadness in her gaze.

"Ask him again," Jack ordered from where he was sitting on the medical cart.

"He's in shock," Sun said, dabbing at Boone's forehead with a cool cloth.

"That's why you need to ask him again," Jack said shortly.

"Boone, can you hear me?" Sun asked. "What is your blood type?" There was no answer. "Boone, please listen," she said gently. "What is your blood type?"

"Dammit," Jack muttered under his breath. Sun glanced at him and saw that he was glaring at the piece of bamboo that he had been poking himself with.

"Maybe a smaller piece," she suggested.

"Veins are like a wet noodle," Jack said. "First you have to find one, then you have to have a hollow needle sharp enough to actually pierce it." He looked at them seriously, frustration lacing his voice. "I've got bamboo." Sun didn't reply to that. Jack sighed. "None of it actually even matters because I don't know his blood type. Not to mention that his injuries…"

"A," Boone gasped, interrupting Jack's tirade. "Negative."

Sun and Jack both looked at Boone in shock. Jack stood up and moved over to him.

"Boone," he said urgently. "What'd you say?"

"Shannon," Boone managed. "The plane…"

Jack looked up at Sun.

"Did you hear 'A-negative'?" Jack asked excitedly. Sun nodded silently.

"Get Charlie," Jack said to her. "Ask everyone you can find, _everyone,_ what their bloodtype is. A-negative, okay?"

Sun nodded.

"Okay," she said, already moving off.

"And find his sister," Jack said after her. "Find Shannon."

* * *

Scarlett stumbled out of the trees, greatly surprising Jack, who was leaning over Boone, looking thoughtful.

"Where were you?" Jack asked.

"You sent me away," Scarlett reminded him, preferring not to answer the question.

"I only wanted you to wait outside," Jack said gently. "I didn't mean…leave."

"Well, I left," Scarlett said shortly. "How is he?"

"We set the leg," Jack said. "It should be fine. But he's lost a lot of blood, and he needs a transfusion."

"How are you going to do that?" Scarlett asked nervously.

"We're not sure," Jack answered. "We need a hollow needle, first of all, and secondly we need someone with A-negative blood type."

Scarlett looked at Jack with surprise.

"A-negative?" she asked. Jack nodded.

"Yeah," he said.

"I'm A-negative," Scarlett said. Jack looked at her in silence for so long a moment that she thought he hadn't heard her, then he shook his head.

"We need to find someone else," he said. "We can't let you give blood. You're pregnant."

"What if there _is_ no one else?" Scarlett asked. "I'll do it."

"I know you will," Jack said with a heavy sigh. "And if there's no one else, you may have to. But we want to avoid it. It's not healthy for the baby."

Scarlett put her hands on her stomach gently, squeezing her eyes closed tightly. At that moment, the baby was suddenly furthest from her mind. She knew she would give anything to save Boone.

"Look, shouldn't we do this right away?" Scarlett asked nervously. "If he's lost a lot of blood…"

"We need a needle," Jack interrupted. "Hollow, small enough to pierce a vein. We've been very lucky about what has survived the crash, but I'm afraid we just don't have one."

Scarlett looked down at the ground and squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears leak out from the corners. Wiping them away with the back of her hand roughly, she looked Jack in the eye fiercely.

"Well where can we find one?" she asked. Jack looked at her sadly and was about to answer when Charlie rushed up.

"I found an 'A'," he said with excitement.

"Positive or negative?" Jack asked. Scarlett got to her feet hopefully.

"She doesn't know," Charlie said, sounding a little let down. He looked at the notebook clutched in his hand, trying to sound like he had any hope at all. "I also found two B positives and one AB negative…at least, he thinks so."

"Did you find any O negative?" Jack asked, though his voice didn't hold any hope.

"Sun said A negative!" Charlie protested.

Jack sighed and started to walk back towards where Boone was lying, putting his hand on Boone's forehead as if it were a resting place.

"Where is she?"

"We split up," Charlie replied. "I thought she'd be back here."

"So you only asked four people?" Jack asked, sounding very pissed off.

"I asked the whole sodding camp!" Charlie protested. "No one knows their blood type! _I_ don't know my bloody blood type!"

Sun appeared from behind the curtain, carrying a wet cooler. She plopped it down on the supply counter, and everyone turned to look at her. Surprisingly, Jack didn't seem to notice the cooler, though Charlie and Scarlett both stared at it, not even daring to imagine what might be in it.

"Did you find Shannon?" Jack asked.

"No," Sun replied. "I was getting you this."

Using a forked stick, Sun managed to pull a sea urchin, of all things, out of the cooler. She held it up proudly. Everyone stared at her blankly. Scarlett wondered if she was supposed to get excited or something.

"What is it?" she asked after a while. Sun looked vaguely annoyed and disappointed, and she put the urchin back in the container, pulling out a single spine.

"A hollow needle," she said with just as much enthusiasm as before. "Sharp enough to pierce a noodle."

Jack took the needle from Sun's hands, looking at it as if it were too good to be true. Looking at it for a moment, he then gently prodded the tip of his finger with it.

"It's perfect," he said with a grateful smile. Sun smiled with relief.

"Not to rain on your proverbial parade," Charlie said bitterly. "But I thought you said we needed someone who was A negative."

"Or O negative," Jack replied.

"Right," Charlie said. "Which, judging by your tantrum, no one is."

"Someone is," Jack replied, giving Charlie a look. He walked over to the supply table.

"You?" Charlie said accusingly. "Why'd you make us…?"

"O neg is the universal donor," Jack replied, picking up a roll of plastic tubing. "It's in the ballpark; it's not a match." He started cutting pieces of the tubing and inserting the needle and other things that Scarlett couldn't see. "My blood could put him into anaphylactic shock. Stop his heart."

Charlie looked at Boone sadly.

"You mean he'll die?" he asked. Jack's head snapped up, his face contorting with fury.

"He's not going to die," he said angrily. Sun nodded firmly.

"Jack, it's too much of a risk," Scarlett said quietly, folding her hands across her chest and looking him square in the eye. Jack looked at her, stopping whatever he was doing.

"So is letting you give him blood," he answered shortly.

"But the stakes aren't Boone's life," Scarlett whispered, trying to keep the tears out of her voice. It didn't matter. Everyone could hear them. And even if they couldn't, they would have known they were there.

"And your unborn child is any different?" Jack practically shouted at her. Charlie and Sun looked at her with surprise. Scarlett sighed.

"Well now that they know…yes, Jack, it's different. This baby might not even get a chance to live. So many things could go wrong. So many horrible, horrible things. She may not even be able to take her first breath, Jack, for reasons completely unrelated to this. But Boone has a chance at life. Right now, he has a chance. I can't let that chance slip through my fingers knowing that the only thing that kept me from saving him was the fact that I had this baby inside of me who I in all honesty would rip from my womb this instant if I thought it could help in saving him." She was completely crying now, looking at Jack with pleading in her eyes and in her tone. "I love him, Jack. I need him to be with me. I need to help him."

Jack looked at Scarlett for a long while, just looking straight at her eyes as if trying to delve deep into her soul to find out exactly what was going on in there. Whatever he saw, he must have understood, because he nodded slowly.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay?" Charlie asked. "Jack, she's _pregnant_!"

"I know," Jack said, continuing with his prepping of the plastic tubing to be used in.

"Thank you," Scarlett said to Jack, exhaling heavily.

Jack nodded wordlessly.

"Charlie," he said calmly. "I want you to get me some of that plastic tubing over across the caves."

"Got it," Charlie said, taking off running without another question or another glance at Boone. Jack turned to Scarlett.

"I have you ask you before we start," he said gently. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure," Scarlett said simply. Jack nodded.

"Okay," he said.

* * *

Scarlett had never given blood before, and she had to bet that on a deserted jungle in the middle of the South Pacific, using plastic tubing and a sea urchin needle, it probably hurt a hell of a lot more than it was supposed to. Her arm felt like it was being sliced in half, but she just gritted her teeth and let Jack adjust the needle in her arm, wiggle the tubing, and do all sorts of other things that hurt like a bitch.

She had been set up for several minutes when suddenly Jin appeared, materializing seemingly out of nowhere. Scarlett had glanced down for a moment, and when she looked up, Jin was standing right there, staring at Sun with surprise. She stared back.

Scarlett noticed that Jin was breathing heavily, as if he had just run a long way. She couldn't believe the horrible luck they were having. If someone was hurt at the beach, that would just be the icing on the top of the ironic cake.

Jin said something nervously to Jack in Korean, who just stood there holding Scarlett's arm and staring at the Korean man dubiously. Scarlett glanced at Sun and saw that her eyes were wide with what looked like fear and surprise. She glanced back at Jin, who was making strange movements. It was like some bizarre charades game. Judging by the blank stares Charlie and Jack were giving Jin, they were as bad at charades as she was.

"Claire!" he stuttered out, finally, giving up on his little game. Scarlett jumped a little bit in surprise.

"Claire?" Charlie asked, his ears practically perking up like a dog's. "What about Claire?"

Jin replied in Korean. Jack shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand.

"He says Claire's with Kate," Sun translated. "She's in labor. Just off the beach."

"Claire's having the baby?" Charlie interrupted. Scarlett put her hands to her forehead and closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. Only Jack noticed her apparent breakdown. "Where?"

Jin answered in Korean. Sun looked at him, asked him something in Korean, and then Jin thought for a few moments before answering her. Sun turned to Jack.

"He says he thinks she's okay, but she's in pain."

"Does he know how fast the contractions are coming?" Jack asked urgently.

Sun asked Jin, and he looked down and scratched his head as he thought about it. Then, he answered, motioning with his hands.

"Every two minutes," Sun said. Scarlett felt her head swimming. She looked down at the blood flowing through the tube and felt a little nausea coming on. She glanced away quickly.

"Is she nauseous?" Jack asked, ironically. Sun started speaking to Jin in Korean, but Jack wasn't done. "Can she stand? Is there any bleeding? Did her water break?"

Sun translated all of those questions to her husband, and he shook his head and replied

"No, none of that," Sun confirmed. Jin continued. Sun turned to Jack again. "But she can't move."

"We should go," Charlie said. "Uh…what do we need? Uh…uh…towels! Bandages, hot water…" He looked around and then looked at Jack. "How do we take hot water?"

"I'm sure you'll figure all that out," Jack said, looking as if he was trying unsuccessfully to keep himself under control. He glanced at Scarlett, who watched the scene with wide, tear-glazed eyes. He turned back with new purpose. "All right. You tell Jin to take Charlie with him and go back to Claire."

Sun did as she was told, just as she always did. Scarlett put her hand to her forehead again and closed her eyes.

"I can do that," Charlie's voice said out of the blackness. "I know I can. That dilating thing, how do I look out for that?"

"Charlie listen to me," Jack's voice replied. "Tell Kate…Charlie, look at me. Tell Kate to wait until the contractions are sixty seconds apart. You got that?" Apparently, Charlie had gotten that indeed, because Jack continued. "Now, she's gonna need to make sure that Claire pushes, but not too hard, not too fast. Just until the head is clear, and then as hard as she can. Now, when the baby is out, make sure she cleans its nose and its mouth."

"Okay," Charlie said, and Scarlett could imagine him shrugging though she could not see him. "But you'll be there by then, right?"

"No," Jack replied. "I won't."  
"Jack…" Charlie protested.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jack said shortly, and Scarlett felt a sort of hysteria forming in her stomach. Boone hurt, Claire delivering. Hadn't she promised Claire that she would be there? _I'm not your mother, but I'll do_. Wasn't that what she had said? Or was that just a dream? She didn't know anymore. She didn't know anything anymore except that she didn't know what to do. She was afraid to open her eyes, yet at the same time she was burning to. She had the strange feeling that if she opened her eyes, it would all be a dream, and she would be lying down next to Boone on the beach. But she knew it wasn't a dream. The pain in her arm and the sick feeling in her stomach told her otherwise.

"I need to stay here," Jack's voice said airily, as if he wasn't really speaking, but it was all in Scarlett's head. "Now, you tell Kate that she's gonna have to deliver this baby."

* * *

Scarlett wasn't really sure what was going on. She felt dizzy. Jack was sitting beside her, clasping her hand just as she clasped Boone's.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked her, his voice fuzzy and unreal to her ears. She nodded, because she knew that if she told him the truth, he would take the needle out of her arm. She wouldn't be able to help Boone then.

_She sat in the waiting room, her hands clasped around a hot cup of coffee_.

"Just tell me if you start to feel dizzy."

Jack smiled hopefully at her.

_She closed her eyes and let the hot steam brush across her face gently_.

"Is he going to be okay, do you think?"

Was that her voice? She wasn't sure. It sounded like it but, Lord, it sounded so far away.

_She heard someone sit beside her, rattling the chair slightly_.

"He's going to be fine."

That was Jack. She closed her eyes.

_She opened her eyes, looking to her left to see who it was. It was Christian._

"I hope you're right."

_"Still here?" he asked with a sad smile. She nodded, resting the coffee on her leg and reveling in the warmth it brought. _

"I will be. Don't worry."

_"I can't go home," she said quietly. He nodded in understanding._

The dizziness was passing, just a little. She opened her eyes again. They glistened with new tears.

_"I told my son about you. About your mother. He wanted to come and talk to you, but he got tied up somewhere else. He's a good man, Jack. A good man. He's good at motivational speeches, too."_

"A good man, Jack," she murmured, barely even realizing she was speaking.

_"Well, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet him," Scarlett said with a smile. "Maybe another time."_

_Christian smiled, looking at her with kind eyes. Scarlett felt like crying, just looking at those eyes, but she didn't know why._

"What did you say?" Jack asked, looking confused. Had she said that out loud? She couldn't remember.

_"Oh, you'll meet him one day. I'm sure of it. Jack likes to help everyone he can. He's got a hero complex, if you know what I mean."_

_Scarlett did know what he meant, and she would go on to use that term many times. Hero complex. Everyone had one. Some bigger than others._

"Sorry, I was just…thinking out loud," she said, shaking her head. "Old memories."

_"He's still a good man, though. Hero Jack, hear me roar. He hates it when I say that."_

"We all do that sometimes," Jack says, smiling. Don't worry about it.

_Christian stands up. _

_"I have to go," he said. "I'll see you soon, Scarlett. Real soon."_

He turns and walks out of the room.

Scarlett's head cleared suddenly, and she turned to face Jack, looking at him carefully. He looked at her, confused, obviously not knowing what to make of her sudden scrutiny.

She wasn't sure, but she had a thought. A thought that would actually make a hell of a lot of sense, and she knew it.

"Jack," she said quietly. "Hero Jack, hear me roar."

She had almost forgotten about that conversation in the waiting room, until she had gone into the dizzied stupor she had just been in. And why wouldn't she forget? It had been several years, and it wasn't as if it was a conversation of any consequence. At least, not then, it hadn't been.

"What did you just say?" Jack asked, but the expression on his face gave away that he had understood. He just didn't know what else there was to say. Neither did she. She didn't know why she was suddenly remembering that stupid, pointless conversation, but it seemed to make more sense than it had a few seconds before.

"Hero Jack, hear me roar," she said again, this time with more animation. "Jack…does that mean anything to you?"

Jack looked at Scarlett sadly, and he nodded.

"You knew my father, didn't you?" he asked simply. Scarlett shrugged.

"I guess so," she said, feeling a sense of wonder fill her. Or maybe that was just the effects of giving blood. Either way, it was a weird feeling. It was similar to the feeling she had gotten when she found out that her good friend Tom was actually Thomas, the asshole who had left Claire. Or like when she found out that Boone's mother was Sabrina Carlyle, the woman who designed Carrie's wedding.

"How else would you have known that?" Jack asked suspiciously. Scarlett got the impression that Jack didn't go around telling too many people that his dad used to say that to him.

"My foster mother was sick," Scarlett said simply. "She was sick, and they knew she was going to die. There was nothing they could do for her, they told me. There were at least fifteen doctors at first that I would speak to, regularly, about my mother. Doctors and nurses. All of them told me the same thing, that there was nothing to be done and that there was no way she was going to make it. Then, they lost interest in me. They ignored me and pretended that I didn't exist. And why should they acknowledge my existence, right? Their job was done; they had told me their little piece and they wanted to move on. But there was one doctor who didn't just tell me and flat out forget me as just another job. He was the one who was working with Carrie the most in the end of her sickness, and he took a particular interest in helping me. He said it was because I reminded him of his son."

She sighed and looked at Jack carefully.

"What was his name?" Jack asked, looking almost like he was dreading the answer.

"Christian," Scarlett said. "I'll never forget the name. He didn't cure Carrie, nothing could, but he treated her like she deserved to be treated; as a person. None of the others did that."

Scarlett saw that Jack was staring at the ground. They were still holding onto each other's hands, and he tightened his hold on her as he prepared to say something.

"Carrie," he said quietly. "Carrie Peterson. My father still talked about her up until he left. He said that he would always remember her. I wasn't sure why her case was so special. It didn't look particularly interesting to me; it was a routine case with nothing to be done. But he found it special. I guess that's because he saw something in you that reminded him of me."

"God knows what he saw," Scarlett said with a snort of derision. Jack looked at her and grinned.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I don't know. Whatever it was, I don't think it was a really accurate assessment."

"Amen to that," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"Why did you just think of this now?" Jack asked. "We've been stuck on this island a month, and you've never said anything to me before this."

"It just…came to me," Scarlett said, not able to explain the sensation she had just felt. "Like a dream, almost."

Jack nodded, though it was clear that he was the last person to believe in premonitions in dreams, just as she knew all along that he would be. She looked down at Boone. She had known all along that something bad would happen to him. Something that she just couldn't prevent. She had known it, though in the back of her mind she had tried to ignore it. There had been those dreams; those countless dreams. She had had them, Claire had had them, and even Boone had had them. They had all known, but they had all pretended that they didn't believe in it. Who would want to?

"I'll leave you alone for a while," Jack said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking her squarely in the eye. "If you need anything, anything at all…just let me know."

"I will," Scarlett agreed. "Go ahead. Get some air."

Jack nodded and squeezed her arm, then turned and reluctantly walked away. Scarlett moved a bit closer to Boone, looking down at him with a new fondness in her eyes.

"Don't worry," she whispered to him. "You're going to make it through this."

He didn't answer, but she knew she didn't imagine the way his hand tightened on hers, and a silent tear rolled slowly down her cheek.


	70. Do No Harm Part 3

Oooookay, sorry about the lateness. My internet is broken and so I have to hook up the computer to the router downstairs for it to work, meaning that I'm lazy and I don't like to do it so I've been putting this off. Buuut now, here it is! Song Bittersweet by Within Temptation

Thank you soooo much to everyone who reviewed! Please review again!

**Little cosette: **Hahaha I'll take that into consideration. ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP: **hahaha I agree, Desmond is amaaaazing. And hey, this whole story is AU remember, hahaha. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Do No Harm (3): **The Guilty

_Where is he?_ Kate wondered as she put another stick on the fire. She was trying to pretend that everything was perfectly fine, but it was taking Jack a long time to get out there. She knew Boone was back there, but surely he was okay by that time, wasn't he? It was already dark, and it was quickly getting darker. Surely, Boone was okay.

Kate wasn't the only one in denial. Claire was looking down at her stomach wondrously.

"They've stopped," she said. Kate's head snapped up from the fire. Claire turned to look at Kate, laughing happily.

"That happens, I think," Kate said warily.

"No, no," Claire argued, laughing again. "They're not coming anymore. I'm…I'm fine!"

For some reason, this filled Kate with dread. She knew what was coming next.

"No…" she said slowly, standing up and starting over to Claire.

"I'm okay," Claire said quickly.

"No…" Kate said again, her heart starting to pound in her ears. _Oh God. I can't do this! Jack!_

"I'm okay, really," Claire said, starting to stand up.

"Claire…" Kate started, but Claire turned to show Kate that she was okay.

"No, no, no," she said, grinning. "I'm okay, really."

"Claire," Kate said slowly, in as calm a tone as she could manage. "I don't think that you should be doing…"

Suddenly, there was the unpleasant sound of trickling water. Claire looked down, disgusted.

"What is that?" she asked.

_Shit, shit, shit. I can't do this!_

"I think your water just broke," Kate replied, in shock. She needed Jack. Where the hell was he?

"No, no, no!" Claire panicked.

"Yeah, you know, I think you…" Kate started.

"I can't have the baby!" Claire exclaimed.

"Just hold on," Kate said over her panicked voice.

"I can't have the baby now!" Claire yelled.

"Just hold on," Kate said again, trying to keep her voice steady. She had to be a rock. A steady, unmovable rock. Claire needed her to be infallible. Claire fell silent, and Kate looked her in the eye as the pregnant woman started to cry. "Jack's coming," she said. "Claire, he's coming."

She looked into the woods, near the path, as if she could see anyone coming in the dark. There was no movement.

_Come on, Jack. Where are you?

* * *

_

Jack walked back into the caves a little while later to find them completely deserted. Everybody had moved down to the beach in the wake of the violent screaming coming from the infirmary. No one wanted to be around the dying man.

Jack was slightly bitter for a moment before he decided that if he were in their positions, he wouldn't want to be near Boone either. He would want to be as far away from him as he could. But he wasn't like them; he couldn't just leave without helping.

As he approached the infirmary silently, he thought he heard someone speaking. As he got closer, he heard that it was Scarlett murmuring softly to Boone. He stopped outside the mesh, where he could just barely see her thin form hunched over Boone's unmoving one. Then, as he was just about to reveal his presence, she began to sing.

_"If I tell you. Will you listen?"_

She had a pretty voice, the kind of voice that people love to listen to when they're sad. It was fitting.

"_Will you stay? Will you be here forever? Never go away_?"

He didn't recognize the song, but it had a beautiful tune. Not that he had ever been one who was very attuned to music anyway.

"_Never thought things would change_."

He leaned against the rock wall nearby, watching her. It felt wrong, invading on this moment, but he didn't want her to stop. Her voice was low and mournful, and she stared at Boone as she sang, running her hand through his hair.

"_Hold me tight. Please don't say again. That you have to go_."

He felt tears creeping to his eyes, though he tried to deny their existence.

"_A bitter thought. I had it all. But I just let it go. Oh, this silence. It's so violent. Since you're gone_."

Scarlett closed her eyes, and he saw two tracks of moisture weaving down her face. They glinted in the firelight and made her look like a beautiful, broken angel from a painting. Unblemished and pure, hovering over an injured man.

"_All my thoughts are with you forever. Until the day we'll be back together._"

Jack had never been one to let his emotions get the better of him, but he had to feel some pain in his chest, listening. Anyone who didn't would have to be a monster.

"_I will be waiting for you._"

He hadn't made any noise, but somehow she saw him. She stopped singing abruptly, wiping her cheeks and turning red.

"I was wondering when you'd get back," she said abashedly, trying to pretend that she was fine. He found himself unable to answer, and he walked slowly over to her, his mouth working in vain for a few moments before he could find the words to say.

"That was beautiful," he managed. "Don't…don't stop."  
She looked at him warily, as if she thought he was kidding. He didn't appear to be, so she continued.

"_If I had told you. You would have listened. You had stayed. You would be here forever. Never went away. It would never have been the same. All of our time. Would have been in vain. Cause you had to go." She took a breath, looking down at Boone. "The sweetest thought. I had it all. Cus I did let you go. All our moments. Keep me warm. When you're gone. All my thoughts are with you forever. Until the day we'll be back together. I will be waiting for you_."

She finished, and there was a long silence. The only sound was the crackling fire and the steady if raspy breathing of Boone. Then, Jack put his arm around Scarlett's shoulders. She tensed at first, not sure of what to do. After all, she wasn't exactly Jack's biggest fan. But after a moment, she felt herself beginning to crumble.

Then, she cried. Jack held onto her, letting her sob into his shoulder and not saying anything. And Scarlett cried.

* * *

_Scarlett walked into the hospital, yawning and already holding a cup of coffee. She walked up to the front desk, when suddenly she saw Christian making his way towards her, running a hand through his graying hair._

_"Christian?" she said to him, and he looked up, his eyes meeting with hers in a way that made her stomach drop to the floor. She knew, then._

_"I'm sorry, Scarlett," he said quietly. He knew she knew. He was a perceptive man, that Christian._

_"Is Dan here?" she asked. He nodded silently, and he walked up to her, looking at her with that endless kindness._

_"I'm so sorry," he said gently, and then he pulled her into his arms. And Scarlett cried.

* * *

_

"Screwed myself up pretty bad, huh?"

Jack and Scarlett snapped to attention, their heads swiveling towards Boone. His eyes cracked open just the slightest bit; just enough so they could see his eyes glinting in the firelight.

"Boone," Scarlett gasped. Jack moved over to Boone.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"My leg hu…hurts," Boone stuttered, his head moving slightly.

"Don't try to move it," Jack ordered gently. "Can you breathe okay?"

"It fell on me," Boone groaned.

"What fell?" Jack asked, confused.

"The plane," Boone murmured. "It was the plane."

"Boone…Boone, Locke said you fell from a cliff," Jack said.

"No, no," Boone said. "It was…it fell. The plane." He murmured something. "It's 'cus of the hatch. We found a hatch."

"Boone," Jack said urgently, sensing that Boone was starting to fade. Scarlett watched with bated breath. "Boone, stay with me, man. Hey, stay with me."

"Locke said…" Boone gasped. "John said…John said…not to tell. About the hatch…"

"What did Locke do?" Jack asked angrily. Scarlett looked down at the ground, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew it wouldn't do any good to expose Locke. "What hatch? What are you…?"

"My leg hurts," Boone gasped painfully, and then he passed out again.

"Boone!" Jack yelled anyway. "Boone! Hey!"

Boone was mumbling something under his breath. Jack leaned forward to hear it. He sighed and leaned back. Scarlett moved forward just a bit, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Scarlett," Boone whispered. "Scarlett. Scarlett…"

* * *

Jack was gone again. Scarlett didn't remember where. She was dizzy and disoriented again, and she knew that it was past time that she should be done giving blood. But Boone needed more, and she wouldn't say anything in complaint until he didn't need anymore.

She closed her eyes and tried to think. She knew the island had given her clues. If it wasn't the island, then she didn't know what it was. Maybe Carrie. Maybe Carol. Maybe it was just her imagination, but there was nothing to do but think. She may as well think.

Those dreams…they couldn't be coincidences. There had to be something, _anything_ that would tell her what she had to do to help Boone. As hard as she tried, there was nothing.

"Please," she whispered. "Please don't take him. I'll give anything. Anything."

Suddenly, it hit her.

* * *

Claire gasped painfully. Kate put her hand on Claire's lower back, rubbing it quickly. Jack wasn't there. Jack _still_ wasn't there, even though Kate had sent Jin looking for him so long ago. She didn't know why, and she didn't want to guess why, but for the moment, she was stranded with Claire, who was ready to pop the kid out at any second. Not an ideal situation.

"Oh, God, that hurts," grunted Claire in a way that would have been humorous if the situation had been even a little humorous. Claire whimpered a little, and Kate could only rub her back some more.

"Hello?" called Charlie suddenly from behind them. Kate turned and looked just as Jin and Charlie hurried out of the underbrush. "Hey, Kate," he said, and then looked at Claire, his eyes widening. "Claire. Is she okay?"

"Where's Jack?" Kate asked breathlessly, moving away from Claire so she wouldn't be able to hear the conversation.

"He couldn't come," Charlie said absently, his eyes still on Claire.

"What do you mean he couldn't come?" Kate asked. "He has to come!"

"Kate, Scarlett's back there giving her blood to Boone. And I don't know if you noticed, but Boone's pretty bent out of shape. He needs all the help he can get."

Kate stared at Charlie for a moment, trying to find something to say to contradict that logic, though she knew there was nothing.

"Okay," she said after a bit. "Okay, we'll just have to pick her up and bring her to him."

"No," Charlie said firmly. "Kate…"

"No, we have to get her to him before it's too late," Kate hissed in reply, glancing at Claire. Jin was kneeling beside her. When he saw Kate and Charlie watching, he held up a hand to signal that everything was okay. Charlie pulled Kate a little further away, grabbing onto her arms and staring her straight in the eye.

"Look," he said firmly, shaking her a little bit as if that would help her pay attention. "Jack said you have to deliver the baby."

"What?" Kate asked, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

"Now, he talked me through it…" Charlie started, bending down to grab something from his bag.

"No…" Kate said in the meanwhile. "No…"

"…and it's relatively simple," Charlie finished.

"No, Charlie, I can't do this," Kate argued, panicked.

"Yes, you can," Charlie said decisively. "I have water. I…I have towels. It's…"

"You're not listening to me," Kate said through clenched teeth. "I can't deliver this baby!"

Charlie had had enough. Kate could see it in his eyes. He had been bossed around all day; shoved and pushed around and told what to do for the benefit of others. And, honestly, he didn't mind. He did everything that he could to help Boone and Scarlett, and God knew that he was going to do everything in his power to help Claire. He had a feeling, however, that jumping between Claire's legs to deliver her child probably wasn't a smart plan. Kate was the logical choice in that department; considering that Kate was of the female gender, and Claire would probably find it far less uncomfortable. He stared at Kate, as all those thoughts and emotions flickered in his eyes in less than half a second, and he leaned forward, emphasizing that the next words he said were expected to be listened to.

"Well somebody bloody has to," he said firmly, with just the right volume. Kate stared at him, pleading with her eyes for him to reconsider. There was probably nothing in the world that she wanted to do less at that moment.

"I have to," she whispered to herself. Charlie nodded.

"You bloody have to," he whispered hoarsely in reply. "She needs you, Kate. So help her."

Kate nodded and walked slowly over to Claire and Jin, who were talking.

"I'm so scared," Claire was saying to Jin, whispering through clenched teeth as the stains of her tears on her face glinted in the firelight. "I'm scared."

"Hey," Kate said, kneeling beside Claire and looking at her with as much hopefulness and tenderness as she could manage. "I'm…uh, I'm scared too. But we're gonna get through this together. Okay? Okay?"

Claire nodded silently, and Kate looked up at Charlie. He bit his lip and turned around to face the darkness, closing his eyes and praying.

* * *

Scarlett's head was swimming in darkness. She felt a sharp pain somewhere on her body, but she didn't know where. It felt like it was everywhere at once, and yet she wasn't even sure if it really existed. Somewhere, she heard someone speaking.

"Scarlett!" yelled a foggy voice out of the distance. She felt like Gary Jones from that Stephen King book, Dreamcatcher; trapped inside her mind with no safe route out. "Scarlett, what's wrong?"

Nothing was wrong; she felt just fine. But did she? She wasn't sure. She felt her head lolling to one side, and she felt someone grab it. A light flashed in her eyes, but she didn't respond. She didn't recoil. She couldn't if she had wanted to. It felt like her entire body was just shutting down.

"Get Hurley over here, now," yelled someone's voice. "Hurry!"

There was another pain; this one sharper than the first. She heard someone cry out, and she thought it might have been her voice, but she wasn't certain.

"Dude, what happened to her?"

She knew that voice. Dude, who said dude? She knew someone did, she just couldn't remember who.

"Too much blood…shit, I should have asked her."

She felt herself floating, and she briefly saw the dirt of the caves moving beneath her, but then it was gone, back into the merciful darkness. She reached out for Boone's hand, but felt only air. Something was wrong.

"Get me some water, quick."

"What about Boone?"

Boone. She reached for his hand again, but there was still nothing there. She knew he was supposed to be by her side, but he wasn't.

"Right there. Hurley, put her down right there. Don't drop her."

Her back pressed against something hard and cold, and she shivered slightly.

"What about Boone?"

"Sun, just get me some water."

She heard footsteps running, and then there was darkness.

* * *

Sun ran to go get water, while Jack bandaged up Scarlett's arm and checked her pulse. It was slow, but steady. She would be fine.

"Dude, is she okay?" Hurley asked, looking down at Scarlett. "She looks really white."

"I know she does," Jack said impatiently, brushing Scarlett's hair out of her face and taking one of the cloths that Sun offered. He draped it across her forehead. Scarlett shivered and curled up into a tighter ball. "Could you find her a blanket to put over her? And a pillow."

Jack left Sun and Hurley with Scarlett and walked over to Boone, looking at him worriedly. His color was back, and he was breathing much more regularly, but there had to be something else wrong with him. He just didn't know what it was.

"Jack?" Sun's voice called out. "Jack, you need to come here, now."

* * *

He examined the knife in his hand, twirling it a few times. He smiled, his teeth white against the black of his clothing. He felt a certain pride in what he was about to do. He needed to do it; that much was certain. He needed to kill the boy.

He got to his feet, walking slowly down the path. When he could no longer hear voices, he walked into the woods a little ways, still holding that knife in his hands. He came to a rock, and he sat down, looking at the silver blade.

"Hey, man!"

He turned around to see who had just spoken. He smiled at his friend.

"Hey," he said. He; the guilty. The attacker. The innocent man walked over to him and sat beside him, not noticing the knife clutched in the guilty's hand.

"What are you doing out here?" the innocent asked, smiling.

"I just wanted to…think," the guilty replied, losing patience. He didn't want small talk. He just wanted to get the whole business over and done with.

"What a coincidence," the innocent said, smirking. "This is where I come to think. Some alone time, you know."

"Yeah," the guilty said, though he really didn't know. He looked at the knife in his hands, eager to use it. Eager to end someone's life. He hadn't wanted to hurt his friend, but he knew he was going to have to if he didn't leave.

"You all right?" the innocent asked. The guilty looked up and smiled, suddenly all reserves about hurting his friend completely banished from his mind. He gripped his knife tighter, and then he swung. It stabbed into his friend's chest. His friend, the innocent, choked in disbelief, looking down at the object which had been thrust into his body. He tried to speak, but no words came out, and instead he stared at the guilty with his eyes full of betrayal.

"I'm sorry," the guilty whispered, though he wasn't sorry at all. He just smiled and got to his feet, turning and walking into the trees, leaving his friend behind.


	71. Do No Harm Part 4

Here's the update! The end of Do No Harm!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again!

**JimmyP:** Hahaha, You'll seeeee! And you'll see about Innocent. Moohaha.  
Oh God, exams. I have mine next week. I'm so scared for my chemistry final, haha. I'm going to fail it, I know it. Hahaha, that English question seems like something I'd love to do! I wish I had something like that on my Chem final! Thanks for taking time out of your studying schedule to review me:D  
P.S. The song was Bittersweet by Within Temptation. I credited it at the beginning of the chapter. Well, I tried to, but I forgot that the equals sign doesn't work, so it came out as 'song bittersweet, within temptation' which probably didn't make any sense.

**Tasha: **Haha, ahhh exams for you too. Where do you live? Because that study time thing seems really cool, and we don't have anything like that where I live.  
Ughhhh, guys and their girlfriends. I know how you feel. The guy I like hasn't spoken to me in a looong time either. And he's supposed to be one of my best friends! He's too busy with his girlfriend too I guess. Ugh.  
Haha, thanks for your opinion! Yes, Guilty is the guy who attacked Scarlett and Innocent is the one he punched. So basically Eddie and Jeff, Jeff and Eddie, whichever happens to be which.  
Hehe I like within temptation too!  
I'm only on episode 21, like 14 pages in. I haven't been working on this story a lot lately. I've recently become friends with two of my sister's friends, and they like to hang out a lot. Which, I'm not complaining or anything because I love them, but it's just given me a lot less time to write hahaha.  
Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Do No Harm (4): **Live or Die?

Kate knelt beside Claire, taking hold of her arm and trying to smile at her encouragingly.

"Claire," she said softly. "I think this is about the time you're supposed to start pushing, okay?" She paused, not sure of what to say. "So…uh…push." She attempted to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Claire took in a deep breath. "And…" Kate prompted, motioning for Claire to exhale. But she didn't. She just sat there, holding her breath. "Don't hold your breath, honey," Kate said, shaking her head and smiling at her. "You're not gonna be able to push if you hold…" She trailed off with realization. Claire was holding her breath for just that reason. She was trying to keep the baby in. "Claire," she said hollowly. "Claire, what are you doing?" Claire still held her breath. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, Claire, you need to push right now." Claire shook her head, still not breathing. "Don't do this, Claire, okay? You can't stop this!" She was getting more desperate, and she sat up, letting go of Claire's arm. "This is happening! Your baby is coming, and I need your help."

Claire finally exhaled, and Kate wanted to cry with relief. But it seemed that Claire was doing the crying for her.

"It's not going to want me," she said brokenly, tears flowing down her cheeks. Kate frowned, surprised.

"What?" she asked slowly.

"It knows I don't want it and I was gonna give it away. Babies know that stuff!"

Kate nodded slowly.

"Do you want this baby now?" she asked firmly. She felt herself beginning to cry. "Do you want it to be healthy and safe?"

Claire nodded desperately.

"Okay," Kate said, choking up a little. "Because your baby knows that, too. You're not alone in this. We are all here for you. This baby is all of ours. But I need you to push, okay? Okay?" she leaned back. "Okay." Claire leaned back as well, starting to gasp harder. "On the count of three," Kate said. "Ready? One…two…three…push!" Claire grunted a little, her face turning red. "Go ahead! Good. Push!" Claire practically screamed this time. Kate put her hand to her forehead as she continued to shout encouragement, cursing Jack in her mind for not being there and wondering where he was.

* * *

Jack was bent over Boone, frowning thoughtfully, when he heard rustling in the trees. He turned to look just as Jeff stumbled out, covered in blood and gasping with fear.

"Jeff!" Jack exclaimed, getting to his feet and wondering if there was anything else that could possibly go wrong. "What happened?"

"Eddie," Jeff groaned. He held a blood-covered knife in his hands, and he dropped it on the ground to show Jack. His shoulder was bleeding copious amounts of blood, somewhat near his heart. Jack rushed towards him, grabbing some bandages.

"Take off your shirt," he said. "Tell me exactly what happened."

Jeff took off his shirt and winced.

"Eddie," he repeated. "I don't know what happened. He just attacked me out in the woods, by the rock. I go there to think sometimes, and he just… attacked me."

Jack turned and looked into the caves. The only other person present was Scarlett, and she was still unconscious, her hastily retrieved bags from the beach placed next to her and clothes strewn over the floor around her. Jack reminded himself to pick that up later.

"Can you stay here?" he asked Jeff. "I'll be right back. I need to get Sun."

"Go," Jeff said, nodding his consent. Jack patted him on the back and ran towards the path to the caves, sparing Scarlett a passing, regretful glance. Jeff stared around the caves. He saw Boone lying on the cushion, and Scarlett lying on the ground. He smiled slightly, though there was very little humor in it. Misfortunes always seemed to happen at the same time. He had heard about Boone's accident, of course, from Eddie, ironically. He hadn't heard about Scarlett's hurts, though. He supposed it couldn't be too bad. After all, she was still breathing.

Jeff turned to Boone again. The whole camp had been buzzing with rumors. No one knew what had really happened to Boone, or if he was even still alive. He imagined that people would have liked to know that he was alive, and that he looked like he was going to be okay. Though, then again, what did he know? He wasn't a doctor. He was a factory worker. He made boxes.

Slowly, he got to his feet and moved over to where Boone was lying. He looked down on him, almost sadly, and then he turned and faced away, moving across the caves.

* * *

Jack wandered through the caves, searching for Sun. He didn't know where she had gone off too, and no matter how many times he called her name, she still wouldn't answer.

"Doc!"

Jack turned around, surprised at the sound of Sawyer's voice. Sawyer was supporting someone in his arms, aided by Michael. It didn't take much looking to tell that it was Eddie.

"You caught him?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Caught him?" Sawyer asked. "We found him. He was lyin' in the middle of the woods on a rock, shouting for help. Didn't take much catching."

"Why was he shouting for help?" Jack asked, confused. Sawyer lifted Eddie up a little. He was unconscious, and his head lolled about dangerously, but Jack could see that Eddie was bleeding as well.

"He said Jeff did it," Sawyer said. Jack stared at Eddie, and then glanced back through the caves.

"Oh my God," he whispered.

* * *

Scarlett's eyes cracked open, and she sat up slowly, her head swimming. She blinked once, then again, trying to clear her head. It wasn't working; she still felt as if her brain was stuffed with cotton. She turned her head and saw that her bag was beside her, and there were clothes all over the cave floor. She frowned with confusion and looked around some more. She saw Jack bent over Boone. She slowly got to her feet and put her hand to her head, letting the dizziness fade before attempting to walk anywhere. The fire near Boone was starting to go out, though she could still dimly make out where she needed to walk. She walked up behind Jack, who was poised over Boone, unmoving.

"Jack?" she asked. The man turned towards her, and all she saw was a black hole in the hood of a black sweatshirt. She screamed violently and pushed herself back, staring at the man who had attacked her.

* * *

"We need to get him to the infirmary," Jack said, helping Sawyer to drag Eddie along. Suddenly, Scarlett screamed, her voice echoing throughout the caves.

"Jack!" she screamed. Sawyer practically threw Eddie at Michael, taking off running. Jack followed after him, right on his heels. "Help!"

* * *

Jeff moved towards Scarlett with a speed and fluidity that she had never sensed in the clumsy man before. He held in his hands a knife, poised and ready to strike at her. She rolled out of the way and kicked out his legs from beneath him. He landed on the ground with a grunt, and she jumped up and started running. Then, she remembered Boone. Skidding to a halt, she turned to face the scene before her. Jeff lay unmoving on the ground. Slowly, she inched towards him, her heart racing and her vision dancing before her eyes.

Suddenly, Sawyer grabbed her from behind, pulling her away from the man on the ground. Jack ran past them, grabbing Jeff by the shoulders and hoisting him up. It was clear when he did, however, that Jeff was no longer a threat. His eyes were wide and unblinking in the stare of death. The knife that he had fallen on jutted into his heart. Jack dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, turning to look at Scarlett. She was heaving great, gulping sobs into Sawyer's chest. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and laid his cheek in her hair, shaking his head at Jack. Jack got the message. It wasn't the time to question her, to ask her what had happened.

"Jack."

Jack turned to see Michael, holding Eddie. He gestured wordlessly to the makeshift stretcher that they had carried Boone on. It would have to do. Michael nodded and carried Eddie without complaint.

Jack put his head in his hands and closed his eyes, willing for everything to be over. Sawyer pulled Scarlett into his arms completely, carrying her over to her blanket. She had ceased her crying, and Sawyer very much doubted that she was even conscious at all. He laid her down on the blanket and pulled the other one over her.

"Hey," he said to Jack, standing back up and pointing down at her. "What's wrong with her."

Jack looked up at Sawyer, then glanced at Scarlett.

"She gave too much blood to Boone," he said quietly. "Miscarriage."

Sawyer looked down at the ground, a sense of loss filling him. Michael stood there awkwardly, looking at the body of Jeff, which lay at Jack's feet.

"Guess we should get all this cleaned up," he said. "Sawyer?"

"Got it," Sawyer murmured, and then they went to work.

* * *

Jack leaned over Boone, his head in his hands. Sawyer was sitting on the ground beside Scarlett, gently trailing his hand over her cheek and into her hair. Michael was standing next to the bed where Eddie lay, looking around at everything with a sad look on his face. Jack felt Boone's leg. He frowned, puzzled, and moved up to his lung.

"Jack."

Jack started with surprise when Boone said his name. He bent over the young man.

"I'm here," he whispered.

"She okay?"

"Who, Scarlett?"

"I…screams."

Jack understood.

"She's fine," he said gently. "She's pulling for you."

"She gave it for me," Boone whispered, opening his eyes at last and turning them towards Jack with startling clarity. "I told her not to."

"You told her not to what?" Jack asked, surprised.

"I told her not to," Boone repeated, and then he closed his eyes. Jack looked over at where Scarlett still lay, her expression one of peace. He looked down at Boone and shook his head. He didn't believe in miracles. He didn't.

But in this case, he decided, examining Boone's leg again, he was going to have to at least admit that it was a possibility.

* * *

"Relax, relax, relax," Kate said desperately to Claire. "Breathe. Come on, breathe."

Claire breathed loudly, her face turning purple in the firelight from the strain.

"Breathe," Kate said again. "Okay. Okay…ready? You got to do another one. I can see it. It's close! Go, go, go, go. Push!"

Claire pushed, screaming in pain. Kate felt like she was in some kind of horror movie. She decided right there and then that she never wanted to have kids as long as she lived.

"It's really good!" Kate exclaimed. "I think it's close. Come on…"

Charlie and Jin, on the other side of the clearing, waited like expectant fathers. Charlie's eyes were glued to the scene with a kind of horrified fascination, his hands wringing together. Kate glanced at them briefly before turning to Claire, who was still pushing.

"Yeah!" she said encouragingly. "That's it! Okay…" She suddenly saw the top of the head. As uncomfortable as the moment initially was; kneeling between Claire's legs and trying to pull a kid out, now it was one of those miracles of life. She, Kate Austen, was about to deliver a baby. She never could have imagined it. "Okay, good!" she exclaimed, remembering that she had to keep encouraging Claire. "Good, good, good! I can see the top of its head! It's almost clear! Come on…I can see it! I can see it! Okay…"

Meanwhile, Claire panted heavily and breathed as she had undoubtedly been taught to do by her doctor.

"You're almost there," Kate said, nearly sobbing now. "You're so close, you're so close! Ready? Ready? Come on! One more! Go, push! Push, push, push, push, push!"

Her cries seemed to motivate Claire, and she pushed her hardest. Kate smiled giddily. The baby was coming.

"Yeah! Come on!" she exclaimed. Claire pushed some more, the veins in her neck sticking out in a way that would have been disgusting if the action she was performing wasn't so miraculous.

Claire pushed and pushed, and suddenly Kate saw it. The baby. It's eyes and its nose and it's little mouth. She reached out and held it tenderly in her hands, her eyes widening. She didn't notice that it was covered in blood and other slick fluid which she couldn't remember the name of at the moment. She didn't notice that Claire was leaning back, exhausted. She just saw the baby, and heard a little voice inside of her telling her that she knew all along she could do it.

* * *

Scarlett's eyes slowly eased open. She was lying on the ground, covered in blankets, alone. Something in the back of her mind briefly remembered something from another life, it seemed. Something about a man with a knife, but she thought maybe it was just a dream. The last thing she really remembered was Boone.

She slowly got to her feet, ignoring the pain that coursed through her body when she did so. Her mind briefly wondered if maybe she had fallen off a cliff. Hadn't someone fallen off a cliff?

Then, she saw the mesh contained area where Boone was lying, and she saw Jack bending over her lover, and she remembered. She remembered Locke and Boone and giving blood and Jeff and everything. She looked down at her stomach and felt along it sadly. Hadn't someone said something about a miscarriage?

When she walked over to the area where Boone was lying, Jack looked up. When he saw who she was, his face paled a few shades.

"Scarlett…" he said tentatively, probably about to tell her to get back into her little makeshift bed. She didn't care. She needed to see Boone.

"How is he?" she asked, surprisingly tired. She sat down on the ground beside Boone as soon as she reached them. Jack looked down at Boone and then back at Scarlett, his eyes large and mournful. Scarlett felt her throat close up in fear. "Jack…?"

"Scarlett, there's something…"

Scarlett felt tears creeping to her eyes, and she looked down at the ground.

"Is he…?"

Jack looked at her sadly.

"He's going to be okay," he said.

Scarlett looked up at him with disbelief.

"What?" she asked, elated.

"He's going to be fine," Jack answered, smiling slightly, though it still didn't reach his eyes. "We're going to have to watch out for infection, of course. And there's no guarantee he'll be up and about any time soon…"

Scarlett jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jack's neck, not waiting for another word.

"Thank you," she sobbed into his chest as he held her and she cried. "Thank you, Jack..."

She broke off, sobbing hysterically, all the tension of the day hissing out of her. Jack just held her and let her cry into him, feeling for the first time in a while like he had done something that really mattered.

* * *

Claire wrapped her arms around her baby boy, smiling at his crying face.

"You're okay," she said to it in wonder. She couldn't believe that she wasn't dead, and the baby was actually breathing. Kate had actually done it.

"Thank you," she whispered to her new friend. Kate smiled wide. She hadn't stopped smiling since she had delivered the baby. Charlie was standing behind Kate, and Jin was a little further behind him.

"Is everything all right?" he asked them, smiling at Claire in a way that made her light up inside. "Are you okay? Is the baby all right?"

"We're all fine, Charlie," Claire said lovingly. He was a bundle of nerves, all excited and giddy and nervous and protective all at the same time. It was almost like he was the baby's father or something. She found herself thinking that that was actually a cute idea. One that she had entertained several times, surely, but it had never seemed so real. He was so concerned, and it was absolutely adorable.

"Kate, you're amazing," Charlie said, hugging Kate. "Absolutely bloody fantastic! I told you you could do it!"

Finally out of her numbing state of pain, Claire realized something that she had been wondering about.

"Why isn't Jack here?" she asked innocently, rocking her baby back and forth slowly, still not able to completely comprehend that he was hers. "Why didn't he come back with you?"

Kate and Charlie immediately grew sober, their smiled fading as they remembered the drama that had been unfolding when they left the camp. In the heat and fear of the delivery, they had all but forgotten poor Boone.

"What is it?" Claire asked, sensing that something was wrong. Kate sighed and rubbed her hand through her hair, biting her lip. "Kate? Charlie?"

Kate sighed.

"Honey," she said gently. "There was…um…there was an accident back at camp."

Claire was immediately filled with fear.

"What kind of accident?" she asked, her mouth feeling numb and filled with cotton. She couldn't even imagine what had happened, yet somehow she already knew.

"Boone…he fell," Kate said gently. "He was hurt really bad…We…we don't know if he's going to make it."

Claire looked down at her child, suddenly feeling like she couldn't breathe.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Scarlett? Is she…?"

"She's okay," Kate said, not knowing how untrue that was. "But Jack needed to be there to…"

"Yeah, I understand," Claire said quickly, and Kate knew that she did. She sighed and sat down next to Claire, smiling shakily and trying to change the subject.

"So, um…do you have a name for him yet?" Kate asked. Claire looked down at the child and shrugged uncertainly.

"Not yet," she said quietly. "I…I haven't really thought about it yet."

She looked at Kate like that was something to be embarrassed about. Kate hastened to make her feel more comfortable.

"Oh, no, no I completely understand," she said quickly. "Besides, you have time. I'm sure the baby won't mind if you take a little while to think about it."

Claire smiled and nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes and letting her hand drift down to the baby's cheek. He was so tiny, she felt afraid to crush him. She looked over at Kate, hundreds of emotions washing over her at once.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you."

Kate smiled and shrugged, as if to say 'no problem'. Everyone present knew, however, that she took Claire's words to heart.

* * *

Scarlett ran her hand through her hair again, bending down over Boone and wiping off his dirty and blood-covered face with a wet cloth. Jack was in another part of the caves, trying to help Eddie. Scarlett had offered to help, but Jack refused to let her near him. He claimed that she had done enough for one day. She had settled for cleaning the dirt out of Boone's wound to try and avoid infection.

She was just carefully cleaning a cut on the side of his face when his eyes opened. He coughed lightly and smiled at her hopefully.

"Hey," he said, and a lump formed in her throat at the simplicity of that one remark. After he had been through hell and back, all he could say was 'hey' and she loved him for it.

"Hey," she repeated, sniffling lightly. He closed his eyes and groaned a little, shifting and then sighing with content when he evidently got more comfortable.

"You okay?" he asked her, as if he knew something was wrong.

"Yeah," she lied. "I'm fine."

Boone looked at her seriously, and she knew that he knew. He glanced down at her stomach briefly, as a reflex, and he sighed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him, still gently brushing the cloth over his cut. He didn't appear to notice.

"I'll live," he said with a sad smile. Scarlett smiled back, though there was no humor in it.

"I'm glad," she said gently. "You really scared me."

"Sorry," Boone whispered, tightening his hand on hers. She smiled at him and brushed his hair back from his face.

"I love you," she whispered, letting her tears fall freely. "I thought I lost you, and I…I love you."

Boone's own eyes were watering lightly, though Scarlett wasn't sure if that was from the emotion or the pain. Still, his voice was wavering when he spoke.

"I promise you, I will never leave you," he whispered. "I will always be here for you. I love you too."

Scarlett realized that it was the first time they had exchanged those words, and it was truer than anything she ever said. She did love Boone. She loved him more than she probably should but she didn't care. And he loved her too. Scarlett bent down and kissed him chastely on the lips. Boone smiled up at her, and she smiled down. They both heard the sound of the mesh being pulled back, and when they looked up, Jack was standing there. He stopped in surprise when he saw that Boone's eyes were open and staring at him.

"Boone," he said mildly. Boone nodded.

"Thanks, man," he said, and then without warning he fell into an easy sleep.

Scarlett got to her feet, dropping the cloth and turning to face Jack with a bright grin on her tired face.

"Thank you," she said to him quietly. "I…I just wanted to say thank you for not giving up. There were so many points where most people would have given up and just forgotten about him, but you refused and you came through. So thank you."

"You're welcome," Jack said simply, smiling at her. She looked at him for a long moment, and then she sat down, suddenly feeling very guilty.

She had hated Jack all that time on the island, all the time that they had known each other. She had hated him so much that sometimes he made her want to scream, or tear her hair out, or tear his hair out. It was ironic that the one person that she couldn't stand turned out to be the only one who could help her. And he had helped her more than he would ever know. She smiled at him gently, and then reached down and ran her fingers along Boone's face tenderly.

"Thank you," she said again. Jack just nodded.

* * *

_"We are gathered here today to say our goodbyes to an amazing woman," Scarlett said to the large group of men and women gathered in front of her. "She was beautiful, loving, kind, and the best mother I could ever ask for." She sighed and looked down at the casket, tears welling in her eyes. "It isn't fair that she was taken from us so early, when she still had so much work left to do. She still had to raise her child, she still had to love her husband. She still had to impact the world like she had been doing for all of her life. Because Carrie cared, plain and simple. When I first went to live with her after my mother died, I hated her. I hated her because I didn't want to be with her, and I thought it was so horrible that I had to be with someone who I didn't know. Well, I got to know Carrie, and she kept trying with me even though I did my best to resist her love. She could have given up on me, but she didn't. And for that, I am thankful." She paused. "She touched all of us in some way, or else we wouldn't be here. All of you have your own stories, and your own memories that you will hold dear. And it is because of that that Carrie Peterson will never truly die. She'll live on in all of our stories and our memories of her that we will tell other people. Just because she wasn't known by millions, it doesn't mean she didn't change the world. Because she changed us. Thank you."_

_She nodded and walked down the stairs leading away from the alter, briefly glancing towards the double doors. Then, she saw that there was a man standing by the doors, watching her. She smiled at him, and he smiled back._

_Then Christian Shepard turned and walked back out to the car, where his son was waiting for him.

* * *

_

Claire and Charlie walked out to the beach, Claire with the baby in her arms and Charlie with his arm around her waist, sheltering them from any harm. People spotted them and immediately ran over, drawn to the little bundle in Claire's arms.

"Oh my God," one woman gasped. "You're okay!"

"He's so beautiful," another woman oozed.

"Honey, he's gorgeous," yet another woman agreed. Claire just smiled, feeling like her face was going to burst with pride. She herself couldn't believe that she was okay, and the baby was okay, and they were both still breathing. There had been several moments when she thought she was dying, and there had been even more moments where she had been convinced that Ethan had done something to the baby that would kill him. But they were fine.

Everyone crowded around them, and Claire felt like some sort of island celebrity. She even saw Sawyer standing in the crowd, smiling. Smiling! Even Jack made an appearance, grinning tiredly and congratulating Kate. The only people that Claire didn't see were the two people who she desperately wanted to be there; Scarlett and Boone. She looked around for Jack, so she could ask him, but then she saw that he was walking down the beach towards Shannon and Sayid. Everyone around her faded to a dull roar as she watched Jack walk up to her.

"What's his name?" someone asked out of the fog, and Claire turned to answer them, her mind instantly dropping the subject of Boone and focusing on happy things.

* * *

"Shannon, I need to talk to you," Jack said, glancing at Sayid. If Sayid got the hint that he was supposed to leave, he sure didn't show it. He just stared at Jack, a content smile on his face. Someone got laid, said Scarlett's voice in Jack's head, and he felt the urge to laugh though he didn't feel that there was anything humorous about the situation at all.

"What about?" Shannon asked in a typical Shannon voice. Jack sighed and ran a hand over the top of his head.

"Boone," he said simply. He looked Shannon in the eyes for the first time. "He's hurt."

Shannon was stunned into silence, her mouth moving slightly but nothing coming out.

"How badly?" Sayid wanted to know, actually looking concerned.

"Badly," Jack said simply. "We were looking for you last night, but we couldn't find you." He said all this in an apologetic tone, and for once Shannon didn't have a snappy comeback. She just paled a few shades.

"How is he?" she asked breathlessly. Jack wondered if she was having another one of her asthma attacks.

"We think he's going to be okay, but we don't know," Jack said slowly. "He's at the caves…"

Before he could get another word out, Shannon took off running into the trees, recklessly flailing her arms and whacking branches out of the way. The sight normally would have been funny, but neither Jack nor Sayid really had much cause to laugh at the moment. Jack started to run after her, but Sayid took his arm and stopped him.

"No," he said simply. "She needs to do this alone."

Jack was poised to argue, but after looking at Sayid's face, which was etched with experience, he nodded.

"Okay," he said simply. Sayid let go of him.

"Do you really believe he's going to be all right?" Sayid asked. Jack nodded slowly.

"I sure as hell hope so," he said simply. Sayid nodded.

"I hope so too," he said. They both looked into the trees, where Shannon could no longer be seen running through the underbrush, and then they turned and walked towards Claire.

* * *

Shannon somehow managed to get to the caves without having an attack or getting lost, and she jogged over to where she could see Scarlett curled up on the ground beside a raised first class seat. Boone was lying on it, his eyes closed and his breathing slightly raspy. Though he was covered with a blanket, he wore no shirt, and she could see that he had been badly cut on his chest. She lifted the blanket and saw that there were stitches holding his chest together, which was newly washed, it looked like. She winced and looked down at Scarlett. The other woman was pale and shaky, and was shivering as she slept.

Shannon picked up a blanket, which was hanging over the rock near Boone's head. It was dry and clean enough, she assessed, so she draped it over Scarlett's sleeping body. Feeling like some kind of mother hen, she walked over to Boone and sat beside him, trying to hold her tears in.

She thought that it was ironic that Boone was always there for her, and he had never once needed her for anything. And then the one time that he could have used her presence, she was gone. Typical Shannon, she thought.

Looking down at her brother, she realized that she had been horrible to him. She had been more horrible than anyone ever could have been, in all honesty. Because she used his love for her against him time and time again to get what she wanted. It disgusted her that she did that to him, and she hated the fact that it could be too late to show that to him.

For the first time, it was Shannon who was feeling worthless; not Boone. She felt like her entire world was caving in around her. Everything that she believed in was gone, and she was left with the cold hard truth staring her in the face. She wasn't good for anything. She couldn't help Boone when he needed her the most, because she was off taking care of her own selfish needs.

Already crying, Shannon walked off towards the beach, feeling empty and hurt.

* * *

Jack stood on the beach, looking out at the waves. Kate walked up slowly, her hands on her hips. She took a spot standing beside him, and he glanced at her, smiling.

"I knew you could do it," he said for the third time that day. Kate smiled back, gazing out at the water and replaying the scene over and over in her head. It wasn't something anyone would normally want to replay over and over, but for Kate it was something that she would always want to remember.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "And we all knew you could fix Boone."

"I didn't fix him," Jack said quietly. "Scarlett fixed him. He wouldn't have been able to make it through this if Scarlett hadn't been there. He wouldn't have had the fight."

Kate smiled at Jack with something like pride. Jack looked away, feeling a little ashamed. He knew his views on Boone's case went against everything that he normally believed in. He was always under the impression that science and logic won out over everything, and that there were no such thing as miracles. But he knew in his heart and in his mind that Boone just wouldn't have made it if Scarlett hadn't been there. He just knew.

"I'm gonna go look after Claire and the baby," Kate said, smiling. Jack smiled as well. Kate had taken on the newborn and his mother as her own personal responsibility.

"Okay," Jack said, picking up his backpack. Kate looked at him strangely.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "Caves?"

"I'm going to look for Locke," Jack answered.

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Boone almost died today, Kate. And I know Locke had something to do with it. We need to find him."

With that, Jack turned and walked into the woods.

* * *

Scarlett woke up to find someone standing over her. She squinted against the light and discerned that it was Sawyer.

"Hey, sweetcheeks," he said with a sad smile. "I came over here to see how you were doing."

"I'm just…tired," Scarlett said, sighing heavily and sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Claire had the kid," Sawyer said cheerfully. "She had a boy."

"Is she okay?" Scarlett asked nervously. Sawyer nodded.

"She and the baby are right as rain," he said happily. "Kate delivered him herself. She's walkin' around with her chest puffed out and her head fillin' up with ego."

He laughed, and Scarlett laughed as well.

"She deserves the pride," Scarlett said quietly. "Thanks for telling me, Sawyer."

"No problem," Sawyer replied seriously. He looked down at Boone, who was now clean and dirt-free. His injuries looked much less grievous in the daylight. "He gonna be okay?"

"He gonna be okay," Scarlett repeated, smiling at Boone lovingly and tracing her finger along his jawline. "Jack fixed him."

"The one good thing Jackass has done this whole stay out here on Paradise Island," Sawyer said with a snort. Scarlett smiled, her eyes still fixated on Boone.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But it was a big one."

Sawyer smiled and nodded begrudgingly. He was trying not to show off too much emotion, but he couldn't help it. Scarlett and Boone were just too damn cute.

He turned and walked off into the trees to be alone for a little while. Scarlett remained behind, looking down at Boone and caressing his cheek, while Eddie breathed laboriously on in the background.


	72. The Greater Good Part 1

Sorry about the length between updates. I've been really busy lately! But here's the new chapter.

I gots a new Xanga. The name is x3letoloverx3 in case you want to seeeee :D

**Sooty: **hahaha don't we all wish that. Thanks for reviewing!

**Helen:** haha, nope, didn't kill him. I'm glad it made you happy :D Thanks for reviewing!

**JimmyP:** haha, sorryyyyy. The majority and myself wanted it to happen! Whoops, lol. Jeff is the guilty. He was the one who was breathing laboriously so I think you probably meant to say him lol. Jack and Scarlett are probably going to talk about Carrie's funeral. I just haven't decided yet. Scarlett was sad about her miscarriage, but it's only been a few hours since it happened, and she's kind of in shock. Events probably wont _majorly_ change, but there will be some changes. And I liked Libby too! We'll have to see about that one :D Thanks for reviewing!

**Emma: **Well, I'm glad you decided that you liked it after all lol. Thanks for reviewing

* * *

**The Greater Good (1): **Can I Be Your Memory? 

Scarlett yawned and rolled over onto her side, for a moment forgetting where she was. Then, she saw Jack sitting beside her, also yawning and trying to hide it. She sat up too swiftly, surprising Jack. He jumped nearly a mile and stared at her with wide, accusing eyes. She would have laughed if he saw any humor in the situation at all.

"You're awake," he said flatly. She nodded quietly.

"Yeah," she said simply. Jack smiled at that and nodded towards Boone, who was still sleeping.

"I just finished checking him out. You did a good job at cleaning him up yesterday. There's no sign of infection. Yet."

Scarlett nodded tiredly and closed her eyes again, rubbing her eyes and finally pushing the blankets off of her body and standing. She glanced around and saw Sayid talking to Shannon on the other side of the caves.

"Have you heard from Locke yet?" she asked, turning to look at Jack with one eyebrow raised.

"No one's seen him," Jack answered, shaking his head. "Why?"

"Oh, come on," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. "I know you want to get that guy alone as much as I do. He almost killed Boone, Jack. I know you aren't going to just let that go."

"No, I'm not just going to let it go," Jack said tiredly. "But Scarlett, I think it would be better if you _didn't_ talk to him right away. At least have a few days to calm down."

"Boone very nearly died because of him," Scarlett said calmly and rationally, looking Jack seriously in the eye. "Because he took off when we needed answers. Because he lied to everyone about what really happened to Boone. I mean, I'm sure if we knew exactly what happened, you would have been able to fix him up better, right?"

"We can't know that," Jack cautioned.

"No, we can't _know_ it, but it's a possibility, right?"

"Yes, it's a possibility," Jack said reluctantly, knowing that she was going to twist his words into yet another reason why John Locke was responsible. Not that he was trying to defend the man, of course. Locke had done something wrong, all right. He had run out on all of them when they needed him most. And he had a sneaking suspicion that Locke hadn't been telling the whole truth about what had happened to Boone out there. He snapped back to reality as Scarlett spoke.

"So we obviously need to get that out of him," Scarlett said. "Interrogate him, maybe. Maybe Sayid can do what he did to Sawyer. Something tells me that Locke would fold fast."

The look in Scarlett's eyes was one of pure vengeance and loathing. Jack was surprised, considering he thought that Scarlett and Locke were on friendly terms. Apparently he had thought wrong.

"Look," Jack said gently, putting his hands on her shoulders. "If Boone were getting sicker, or if he were…dead," (He didn't like saying that, but he knew that he had to in order to get his point across), "then I would be behind you three hundred percent. But the truth is that Boone _isn't_ getting worse, he's getting much better. There's no reason to go after Locke for lying when no one's dead.

"My _child _is dead," Scarlett said in an even tone, though her voice was laden with tears. "Jeff is dead."

"Jeff's death had nothing to do with Locke," Jack reminded her. "Jeff was very disturbed."

"He's still dead," Scarlett said. "Someone's dead. That's all the reason we need to go after him."

"Scarlett, you need to stop," Jack said firmly, looking at her with a heavy and forlorn expression. "I know you want him to pay for what he did to Boone. I do too, trust me. But I don't think that you're doing it the right way. We can't just torture him for something that may or may not have had any actual impact!"

"We aren't back home, Jack," Scarlett said viciously. "We can do whatever the hell we want, in case you forgot."

Jack sighed inwardly, but outwardly maintained an expression of calm. He knew that Scarlett was just stressed out and she wasn't thinking clearly, and he knew that a few days later when Boone was feeling better, she would be completely over the whole thing. But he also knew that at the moment, he wasn't going to be able to change her mind about anything, and neither was anyone else.

"Okay," he said, instead of saying that aloud. He knew what kind of reaction _that _would have produced, and he didn't exactly want to come face to face with it. "I went looking for Locke earlier today, but he isn't anywhere on the beach and he isn't in the caves. Let's let him come back here on his own terms, when he's ready. Then, we'll give him what he deserves."

Scarlett looked at Jack evenly and nodded, her eyes staring right through him. Jack frowned worriedly. He knew that she had lost a lot of blood, and he knew that the loss of the baby was probably having a great effect on her, but she had seemed fine up until that point.

"Hey," he said to her, and her eyes focused a little bit on him before drifting back out. He gently took her face in his hands and turned her to face him. Her eyes settled on him lazily.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"I think you need to sleep for a little while longer," Jack said gently. He looked around helplessly for Sun, but she was nowhere to be found. He remembered suddenly that he had sent her down to the beach to take care of Claire and the baby while he was busy with Scarlett and Boone. He cursed that decision and looked around for someone that he could send to go get Sun.

Sayid was the first person that he spotted, and he gestured to him. Sayid saw and nodded, excusing himself and walking over to where Jack was standing. Jack noticed with chagrin that the woman he had been talking to was Shannon, and she was crying. It was too late to back off, though; he had already called the man over. Besides, there was no one else nearby. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if there was no one else in the whole damn caves.

"Do you mind going down to the beach and telling Sun that I need her?" Jack asked Sayid. Sayid looked mildly annoyed, but he nodded.

"Of course," he said. "I will bring her back."

With that, he nodded and walked back towards Shannon, speaking lowly to her and then turning and walking down towards the path to the beach. Jack turned back towards Scarlett for a moment, but then Michael appeared, gasping and out of breath.

"Jack," he panted, gesturing vaguely back through the caves. "It's Eddie, man. His breathing just got really rough. I think you should come take a look at him."

Jack glanced back towards Scarlett, who was just sitting with her eyes closed. He sighed heavily and nodded.

"All right," he said. Without telling Scarlett, he walked briskly after Michael.

* * *

"So you delivered the baby…all by your lonesome?" Sawyer asked Kate as he leaned against the tree near where Claire and the baby were lounging in the shade. 

"Yeah," Kate said with a radiant grin for him. "Why? Surprised?"

"No, hell, not surprised. Just…okay, yeah, maybe I am a little surprised," Sawyer said lazily, grinning. "Though I don't think I should be. You're a piece of work, Kate. You know that? A real fine piece of work."

Kate smiled at that and turned around to watch Claire, shaking her head.

"You're some piece of work too, Sawyer," she said sarcastically. "The kind that needs fixing."

"Ain't that the truth," Sawyer said darkly from behind her. She sighed and closed her eyes; every time it seemed that they were close to having a normal conversation, he had to go and do something like that; he had to make the conversation all dark and dreary and depressing. Every single time.

"Have you thought anymore about the name for him?" she asked as she crouched down beside Claire.

"A little," Claire said, shrugging uneasily. "But I dunno…maybe it's too early to name it, do you think?"

Kate thought that was an odd thing to say, but she just shook her head.

"Not really," she said. "I mean, most parents tell the nurse their baby's name right away after it's born. Not that there's anything wrong with waiting of course. I'm sure lots of people just aren't sure of what to name their kids yet. But it's never too early."

Kate neglected to mention that she already had her first and second children's names picked out. She had always wanted kids, and it killed her that her life of constantly running seemed to be something that would prevent her from having them. That was one of the things she resented most about killing that bastard.

"I think you'd make a wonderful mother," Sawyer said thoughtfully, as if he had read her mind. She turned to look at him, and saw that he was flashing those to-die-for dimples at her. She smiled and stood up, slowly turning as she did so.

"You think so, huh?" she asked him playfully. If he was surprised at her sudden positive reaction, he didn't show it. Though, Kate thought wryly, he probably wasn't surprised at all. Women being attracted to him was something that Sawyer expected. Just like Jack expected everyone to follow his orders. It was always about expectations with them. Men.

"Yeah, I think so," Sawyer said, leaning forward and smiling at her in that 'oh shucks' way that he had that was always so charming. "You've got the care for it, and just the right amount of toughness. You'd discipline 'em so they wouldn't end up wild and unruly like me, but you wouldn't discipline 'em so bad that they turn out all tightassed, like Jack."

Kate couldn't see Claire from where she stood, but she could have sworn she heard a little giggle that was quickly silenced. Sawyer just smiled at Kate brightly.

"Well, I'm sure the father would have some say in that," she said with a mockingly sunny smile. He grinned at her, and he grinned back, and then the sun came out from behind the clouds at last.

* * *

Shannon watched Scarlett for a while; just sat there and watched her with a thousand different protests going through her head. 

_She doesn't want you to go over there_, was one of the many.

_She needs to be alone and you won't help her_, agreed another.

_You're just his stepsister. His stepsister who treated him like shit and who doesn't _deserve_ to see him. He loves her._

But hadn't he loved Shannon, too? Shannon knew he did. She didn't know how far over her he was, but he had still loved her at one point. She had the right to be there. She had the right to sit by his side and hold his hand.

Of course, at the same time, her mind countered that argument entirely. She didn't _deserve_ anything the way she had embarrassed and rejected him, both growing up and when they were older. She had never been nice to him, and at the moment when he needed her the most, she wasn't there. Instead, it was Scarlett who had to give him blood. It was Scarlett who had to lose her child because she gave so much. It was Scarlett who had to clean off his cuts and wounds and stand by his side even when it was sure that he wasn't going to make it.

Would Shannon have done that? Possibly, she liked to think. (Even though her blood type wasn't A negative.) If she had been thinking honestly at all, it would have been obvious what the answer to that would be. No. Shannon would have never given up _anything_ to help Boone, because that was just who Shannon was. It wasn't the _Boone_ _show_, it was the _Shannon_ _show_, and Shannon was the only star. It was like a bad sitcom that was supposed to be funny but was really actually kind of pathetic.

Despite all her arguments against herself, Shannon got up and started walking over to her brother and his lover. She knew she didn't deserve it, but it never mattered to her what she deserved and didn't deserve anyway. Shannon got what she _wanted_, plain and simple. It had always been that way, and she had a feeling that it would continue to always be that way. That was just how things went.

"Hey," she said to Scarlett as the small conscience that she had screamed at her dimly somewhere inside her head.

"Hey," Scarlett replied moodily. Shannon was offended for about three seconds before she realized that Scarlett's attitude probably had nothing to do with Shannon. She was probably just upset about Boone. Or something.

"How's he doing?" Shannon asked self-consciously, sitting down beside Scarlett. Her long, tan legs stretched out in front of her, and she knew she detected a trace of jealousy in the other girl's eyes. Scarlett glanced down at the ground. She shrugged.

"I…I don't know," she said in a voice that conveyed a lot of honesty. "Jack says he should be okay, but there's still infection to worry about."

Shannon nodded as if that meant something to her. All she heard was that it was going to be all right. That helped calm her down a little, but she still felt that gnawing guilt eating away at her.

"What were you talking to Jack about over here?" Shannon asked. "You looked pretty…heated."

Scarlett had to smile at that one.

"I _was _pretty heated," she said with an almost mournful sigh. "Jack was just…ugh, I don't know. Don't worry about it."

Shannon heard the slight mocking tone in Scarlett's voice. She knew it wasn't there consciously, but more of an unconscious reaction. She was right to do that, too. She knew that Shannon wasn't going to worry about it. Because Shannon didn't worry about anyone but herself.

There had been many points where Shannon had hated herself over the twenty years that she had been alive, but there was none so strong as that moment in time. She found herself looking at the tired and beautiful face of the woman that her brother loved. The woman who very likely saved his life the night before. And she was sitting there feeling sorry for herself rather than comforting that woman. What was wrong with her?

"No, no, talk about it," she said with an almost desperate quality. "Please."

Scarlett looked at her oddly; she could hear that desperation that Shannon didn't bother to hide. She nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll tell you."

* * *

Jack stood over Eddie, breathing heavily and wiping sweat from his forehead. It seemed that the moment he got a second to rest, there was another crisis to deal with. It seemed that the world was going to hell after all. Not that they had been in Heaven or anything for the past month and a half. 

Eddie was breathing regularly at last. Michael was standing off to the side a little, biting his lip worriedly.

"How is he, man?" he asked. Jack turned and looked at him, surprised at the concern in the other man's voice. He hadn't thought that Eddie and Michael were that close at all. It didn't matter, though, he realized. It didn't matter because Michael had invested a personal interest in the matter.

"He's doing better," Jack said without much emotion. "He's stable, at least. Where's Walt?"

Surprised at the randomness of the question, Michael gestured vaguely back towards the beach.

"He's back with Claire and the baby," Michael said. "I didn't want him to see that."

"Yeah, right, of course," Jack said, nodding. "All right. I have to go check up on Scarlett. Stay here with him, all right? Yell for me if he wakes up."

"Got it," Michael said, nodding vehemently and sitting down next to Eddie. "Right, man."

Jack turned and walked back in the direction of Scarlett.

* * *

"He left?" Shannon asked, her emotion undetectable. 

"Yeah, he left," Scarlett said, her voice laden with wrath. Shannon looked down at the ground and then back up again, her lip quivering slightly.

"That…bastard," she growled. "He could have died!"

"That's what I said," Scarlett said with a heavy sigh. "And Jack gets it. I think he does, anyway, but I'm not sure if he completely understands or not."

"Right, yeah," Shannon said. "I mean, maybe he's just not, like…so involved in this. Because, you know, it's not like he's as close to Boone. Maybe this whole thing just doesn't effect him as much."

"Maybe," Scarlett agreed quietly.

"I'm going to kill that bastard if he comes back," Shannon said decisively. "Just wait." She stood up, her long legs stretching out and her perfect sunny blonde hair bobbing. Scarlett felt a stab of jealousy once again. "I need to go find Sayid. I'll be back later. I promise."

Scarlett watched Shannon go, and she had a feeling that she had just cracked the lid on a very nasty can of worms. Though really, she reasoned, what could Shannon do? She would probably stand on the beach, stomp her feet, scream at Locke, and the whole camp would watch and laugh. Maybe she would even hit him. Not that it would hurt, but it would still feel good.

"Scarlett?"

Scarlett turned around to face Jack, who was just walking back into the infirmary.

"Yeah?" she asked questioningly. Jack glanced at Shannon's retreating back, but shook his head rather than saying anything.

"Never mind," he said. "How's he doing?"

"No change," Scarlett said, shrugging. "Jack, tell me the truth. Do you really think he's going to be okay, or are you just not telling me?"

"I think he's going to be okay," Jack said assertively, looking Scarlett right in the eye. "I think you saved him, Scarlett."

Scarlett closed her eyes, appearing overcome with emotion. Jack sat down next to her and watched her for a while until she finally opened her eyes.

"We should bury Jeff," she said after a moment. Jack's eyes followed hers to the other side of the caves, where Jeff lay covered by a blanket. "And I'd like to have a funeral for my child, if that's all right."

"That's perfectly all right," Jack said quickly. "I had thought of it too."

"I thought funerals weren't your thing," Scarlett said with a grin for him. He grinned back.

"They're not," he said. "But I can make an exception for this one."

Scarlett looked down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap.

"I just…I can't believe the yesterday really happened," she said, looking at him and not really sure of where she was going with that. "I mean, yesterday morning I woke up wondering if Boone was _mad _at me. That was my big, stressful problem that I was going crazy thinking about. That seems so stupid and trivial, now."

"It always seems that you need one really big catastrophe to prove to you that you really don't have it all that bad," Jack said thoughtfully. Scarlett nodded.

"I completely agree," she said with a sigh. They looked at each other and smiled slightly, then looked back down at the ground.

"Come on, take a nap," Jack said suddenly, patting the pillow that he had laid on the ground for her the night before. "You need rest."

"I just took a nap," Scarlett pointed out. "We need to bury Jeff."

Jack sighed and nodded, knowing that it would bother him as much as it was bothering Scarlett. He could just picture the body lying on the ground, the stricken expression of pain and shock on its face as blood surrounded it. He could recall Scarlett standing across the caves, screaming as her delirious eyes roamed over them, not trusting anyone. Not even him. Not even Sawyer. Memories like that were better forgotten.

"All right," he said quietly. "We'll bury Jeff. We'll hold a funeral for your child. _Then_, you have to promise that you'll take a nap."

"I will," Scarlett said sadly. "Thank you, Jack."

"No problem," Jack replied. And he meant it.


	73. The Greater Good Part 2

Ah, I love being busy in the summer. Though that's bad news for my stories because they don't get updated as often.

Still, I'm very happy. My crush of two years and I have been getting very, very close, and now he calls me his best friend. (: It makes me very, very happy. I swear this kid is like an angel from Heaven. He's so amazing. I'm sad a lot, mostly because of him and my self confidence issues which arose from him not liking me and stuff, and whenever I'm sad he makes me talk about it, and then he fixes it. He cares more than my other friends do, even though the problems are problems about him. I don't know, he's just amazing.

Sorry for that little rant. Oh, and I'm hungry. I'm also not supposed to be up right now. So, if I get caught, I'm dead. Think of all I'm giving up for you people!

Did I mention that I'm really really tired? Because I am. If I seem a little delirious, that's why.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please review again (:

**JimmyP:** Hahaha, whoops, my response was wrong, too. That's what I get for trying to think. Yeahhhhh, burying your child really does seem like it would be the absolute worst feeling in the world. I can't think of anything much worse. Unless burying someone you really truly love in a romantic way. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**The Greater Good (2):** Problems

When the people at the beach saw Jack, Sayid, Hurley, and Sullivan carrying the body in the tarp down to the beach, an immediate whisper spread throughout the camp.

"Oh my God," Kate whispered, her hands flying to her mouth as she watched the men walking towards them. Claire struggled to her feet with a little surprising help from Sawyer.

"Is that…?" she asked in a hoarse, horrified voice.

"Shit," Sawyer swore tiredly. Kate started jogging towards Jack, and Sawyer followed. Claire remained behind, holding her baby and closing her eyes, two hot tears trailing down her face.

"Jack!" Kate yelled. Jack looked up, and Kate was surprised at the size of the bags under his eyes. She had seen him only an hour before, but he looked five years older; like he hadn't slept in over a week.

"We have to bury him," he said tiredly. Kate stopped jogging and stared at him, her arms falling limply to her sides. Jack looked at the rest of the men and nodded. The four men simultaneously dropped the edges of the tarp. Kate put her hand over her mouth again, gasping when the tarp flapped open, revealing the body inside.

"Jeff," Sawyer said with relief. Kate turned and looked at him angrily.

"Yeah, Jeff," Jack said. Sawyer shook his head and ran a hand through his hair shakily.

"Damn, doc, you scared me."

"What happened to Jeff?" Kate demanded. Michael, Hurley, Jack, and Sawyer all exchanged glances. Only Sayid didn't appear to know what was going on.

"They have not told me," Sayid said, confirming Kate's impression that he was clueless. "I would, however, greatly like to know. If that is all right with you."  
Kate and Sayid both looked at Jack, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests.

"I need you two to keep this quiet," Jack said shortly. "At least for now."

"All right," Kate and Sayid said simultaneously. Jack moved in closer, and everyone else moved in closer as well.

"Jeff was the man who attacked Scarlett in the woods the other night," Jack said. Kate's eyes widened. Sayid showed no emotion. "Last night, he tried again."

"How did he get in there?" Kate asked angrily. "Where were you?"

"He tricked us into thinking that Eddie had attacked him, and then Michael and Sawyer called me from the edge of the woods. They had Eddie with him. _He _had been attacked. Jeff was still back in the infirmary with Scarlett and Boone, but by the time we had realized that _he _was the one that was the problem, it was too late."

"Is Scarlett okay?" Kate asked, her eyes widening even more, giving her a very bug-eyed appearance.

"He fell on his knife," Jack said simply. "He didn't touch her."

Kate sighed with relief, not noticing that Jack hadn't answered her question of whether or not Scarlett was okay.

"Where is she?" she asked instead.

"She's coming," Jack said with a sigh. "She's with Sun right now."

Kate nodded quietly and looked back up the beach. Scarlett wasn't coming yet, however, so she sighed and nodded towards Jeff.

"I'll help you bury him," she said. People were starting to gather, but not close enough to get a good look at the body. Jack covered Jeff's body with the tarp again, looking disgusted.

"Excuse me, Jack?" came a voice out of the crowd. Everyone turned towards the sound as the crowd parted and let Rose through. "Jack, who is that?" Rose asked, drawing up to her full height. "Don't try to hide the face from us. I think we can all take it, Jack. We've all experienced loss, here. We all know what death can do. Don't try to hide that from us."

Jack sighed and looked around at the gathered survivors. Their blank faces didn't tell him much, but he knew they agreed. Rose was always the voice of everyone.

"Okay," he said reluctantly. Then, he bent down and pulled the tarp off the face.

There were a few gasps from the crowd, and Alicia started to cry, but the general air was one of relief. Jack felt horrible for knowing that Jeff hadn't meant all that much to anyone. He felt even more horrible that he hadn't noticed the man's disturbance before it was too late to help him.

"How did this happen?" Alicia asked tearfully. "Where's Eddie, does he know?"

Sawyer, Kate, Sayid, and Hurley all glanced at each other in a way that was completely obvious. Jack felt like he was stuck in a bad comedy routine.

"Really, we just need to get him buried," Jack said, turning away from Alicia and looking at the assembled crowd. "Please, everyone. Can you all help dig a grave?"

A murmur went up in the crowd, and people surged forward like a wave to help out. That struck Jack as very poignant. They may have been stuck on an island with no hope of escape, but they were together, and they took strength in that.

"Jack? What happened?"

Jack sighed. Alicia was persisting. He put an arm around her shoulders and quietly led her away from the group.

"You need to listen to me and not make a scene, all right?" he said to her in the most confidential tone he could manage. She nodded, obviously under the impression that he was about to tell her something that only the two of them knew. Jack sighed heavily. He didn't want to announce to the whole camp that Jeff had been deranged, and he figured that an excellent supplement to telling everyone would be to simply tell a few people who would spread it around. He looked around, but Shannon wasn't there. He would find her and tell her later.

"What is it?" Alicia asked. Jack leaned forward confidentially once again.

"Jeff tried to kill Scarlett Meyers last night," Jack said in a quiet tone. "He attacked her with a knife, but somehow he tripped and fell, and he fell on the knife. Before he died, he attacked Eddie in the woods, and he very nearly killed him. Eddie is back at the caves, recovering."

"Oh my God," Alicia whispered, horrified. "You have to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not," Jack said with a heavy sigh. "Although I wish I was. Jeff…Jeff was highly disturbed."

He seemed to be saying that a lot, to himself and to others, and he realized that he was being extremely redundant. Though what the hell else was he supposed to say? None of them had seen it coming. None of them thought that little, sweet Jeff could be capable of a thing like that. He had never given them reason to see it.

"I didn't see anything like that in him," Alicia said. "Him and Eddie…they were like two peas in a pod. They finished each other's sentences and everything. How could that have happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jack said with sympathy. Alicia looked down at the ground, her expression one of betrayal. Jack liked to think that he understood what she was feeling. "We don't know anything. And it's very likely that we _wont_ know anything, because Jeff is dead. We're hoping that maybe Eddie can shed at least some light on the situation."

"You know," Alicia said quietly. "I always did notice that Jeff would get really defensive whenever I said something bad about Scarlett. Because, I mean, it's no secret that I can't stand her. But he would always stick up for her, and he would get all mad at me. And they weren't even that close friends. But he would always talk about her with Eddie, and how pretty she was and how sweet and funny. I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda jealous. But like…I didn't think it was anything that bad. I didn't think he was _that _obsessed with her."

"No one could have seen this coming," Jack assured her, seeing that she was starting to look guilty. He knew that she was going to blame herself no matter what he said; after all, didn't he do the same thing? "Jeff was a good guy, and no one had any reason to believe that there was anything off. Sometimes, stuff like this happens. We're just lucky he didn't get out of hand, or there may have been a lot more incidents before we were able to stop him."

"Yeah," Alicia said numbly. "I think…I think I'm gonna walk up to the caves and see Eddie now."

"Okay," Jack said to her comfortingly. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I hope so," Alicia said quietly, and then she turned and walked back towards the caves. Jack turned to everyone around him, and those not working on the grave all stared at him, wondering what he had just told Alicia to make her so upset. He knew he wasn't going to be able to avoid it much longer; he had to tell everyone or his head would be on the chopping block. Though, judging by the expressions on the faces in the crowd, he was already there.

* * *

Scarlett was tired of waiting. She was a naturally impatient person and couldn't do anything unless she was multitasking. Sitting on the floor of the cave waiting for Boone to wake up wasn't exactly something that she enjoyed doing. Just when she was about ready to scream with frustration, Sun appeared with the cross that she had carved for Scarlett's child. It was a simple thing; much like the cross that Jack had made for the marshal and Scott. She had carved 'Carrie Meyers' on it, as Scarlett had requested. Scarlett took the cross gently in her hands and looked at it. She felt horrible when she didn't feel any emotion. All day, she had been trying to feel something for her lost child. But it was like since she hadn't gotten over the shock of realizing that the child was there, she couldn't allow herself to be upset that it was gone. She knew it was terrible. She wanted nothing more than to care. But she couldn't.

Sun seemed to sense her distress. She gently put an arm around Scarlett's shoulders and started to lead her towards the path to the beach. Scarlett looked back at Boone, who was still sleeping peacefully.

"Do not worry," Sun said to her gently. "Michael will watch him."

"I know," Scarlett whispered, barely audible. She glanced at Michael, who was still watching Eddie and avoiding Scarlett's gaze. It seemed that everyone was doing that but Sun. She and Jack were the only people who would truly look her in the eye. She simply couldn't _wait_ for everyone to find out. Then she would have to deal with the entire camp attempting to avoid her for weeks.

As they were starting down the path, Alicia breezed past them, panting like she had just run a mile. She nearly charged directly into Sun.

"Excuse me," she muttered distractedly. When she saw Scarlett, however, she stopped. For a few seconds, the two women just stared at each other. They each had matching sets of puffy red eyes, and both of them had dirty tearstains. It was like a showdown of the mourners.

"Scarlett…" Sun said gently, obviously trying to urge Scarlett on. She knew that Alicia was staring at Scarlett like that for a reason, and even though she didn't know what that reason might be, she knew well enough that it wasn't a good one. Scarlett knew that too, but somehow she couldn't convince herself to just walk away. It might have been Boone's near-brush with death or the fact that her baby had just died and she couldn't feel anything for it, but she felt stronger than she did the day before.

"Yes?" she asked innocently.

"Don't pretend you're all innocent," Alicia practically snarled, surprising Scarlett. You can't hide what you did."

"I didn't do anything," Scarlett said vehemently, knowing that she was talking about Jeff. Who else would she have been talking about? Everyone knew that the only two people on the island who could actually stand her were Jeff and Eddie. Maybe that was because she was open about hating just about everyone else.

"You killed Jeff!" Alicia screeched with rage. Scarlett took a step back, her eyes opening wide. Sun put a hand on her arm.

"You need to get your story straight," Scarlett said harshly. "Because it looks like you're missing some of the key facts. Like the fact that he tried to kill me, Eddie, _and _Boone."

"How do I know that's even true?" Alicia asked scornfully. "How do I know you're not just all covering something up?"

"Think whatever you want you stuck up _bitch_," Scarlett exploded suddenly, losing whatever patience she might have had to begin with. "You're not worth explaining it to."

She started to walk away, but Alicia wasn't finished.

"I'm not worth it? How about this you fucking whore; everybody knows you killed him. Everybody knows you finally lost it. I'm gonna bet he didn't even do anything."

Scarlett whirled around to face Alicia, her eyes widening with shock and anger.

"What?" she growled under her breath. "You're insane."

"You killed him!" Alicia screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Scarlett. She looked to Sun for support, but Sun looked just as lost.

"I didn't do anything!" Scarlett yelled.

"Hey!" yelled a voice from across the caves suddenly. Everyone turned and saw Michael walking towards them with a look of anger written on his face. "What the hell you think you're doing?"

He strode up to Alicia and stepped between she and Scarlett. He drew himself up to his full height and looked down at her. His expression was one of utter distaste.

"She killed Jeff," Alicia said, though it was clear that she was losing some of her momentum. "She…"

"Don't you dare point your finger at me," Michael said, swatting Alicia's hand out of the way. "And don't you even think about saying one more thing about Scarlett. She didn't kill that bastard. That bastard killed himself by being stupid. He was an asshole. A grade A crazy-ass asshole, so don't you go thinking for one second that we aren't better off without him. You need to get your facts straight."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode back to where he had come from. Scarlett turned and walked towards the path to the beach, smiling. She reminded herself to thank Michael later.

Alicia watched her go, her rage simmering lightly below the surface. Mad with grief, she didn't stop to even consider that maybe everyone was telling the truth. She only knew that Jeff was dead. Jeff would have never attacked anyone. He was too sweet.

Truth be told, Alicia had fallen in love with Jeff. Though he had never shown any interest in her other than as a friend, she had still felt things for him that she knew she shouldn't feel. He was a wonderful man, and he would have made any woman happy. What they were saying just couldn't be true.

She knew that she needed to talk to Eddie. Once Eddie woke up, he would tell her the real story. And then, she would be able to tell everyone the truth. She wasn't really sure why she wanted the truth to get out so badly, though. It was either because she wanted Jeff's name to be one remembered fondly after his death, or because she truly detested Scarlett. The fact that it could have been either one probably should have made her stop and think, but she was done thinking. She just wanted to act.

* * *

Scarlett and Sun arrived at the beach to find that everyone was just starting to gather by the freshly-dug grave. Jack was standing at the center as always, and he was talking quietly to Kate, looking concerned. Scarlett almost sneered at him inwardly before she remembered what he had done for her the night before.

They walked up to the crowd.

"Excuse me," Scarlett said quietly to Randy, who was closest to her. She had to get by. Randy turned and looked at her, appearing ready to tell her off until he saw who it was. Then, he took a step to the side. His eyes were as wide as saucers. Slowly, Scarlett and Sun began to walk forward. Everyone in the crowd was soon looking at them, and people were parting to let them pass. With the cross clutched in her sweating hand, Scarlett felt very much like Moses, parting the Red Sea.

"There you are," Jack said to her gently when she got to the small oval of clear space in the center. He saw the cross that she was holding, and he nodded respectively. "Do you want to tell everyone?"

Scarlett glanced around. Everyone was staring at the cross questioningly, trying to read it. A general murmur of question had gone up around them. She knew that she would have to explain eventually, and it was better to explain it once as a group than to forty-something individuals at different times.

"Yeah," she said reluctantly. "I'll say something."

Jack nodded and turned to the assembled crowd. Shannon walked up slowly, standing beside Sayid. He looked at her when she approached, but he didn't say anything.

"Why don't you tell them what Jeff did," Jack said suddenly, turning to Scarlett with a weird expression. "They deserve to know, don't they?"

He sounded desperate, almost half-crazed. She didn't know what had brought about this sudden desperation to reveal Jeff's true self, but she knew that it had to have been caused in some way by Alicia. Maybe he didn't want anyone to doubt them.

Scarlett looked around at everyone. Some were crying. Others looked bored. Some looked like they were there for something entertaining to do. But still, she knew that they all had their perceptions of Jeff. She didn't think it was fair to shatter those perceptions after the man was dead and nearly buried.

"No," she said decisively, shaking her head. "I don't have to tell them. I'm not going to tell them."

Jack sagged a little, maybe with relief and maybe with disappointment. It was hard to tell.

"Okay," he said quietly, offering no resistance. Scarlett noted that he had probably just been looking to see if she agreed with him in his decision to keep things quiet.

"Okay," she whispered gently, and then she turned to face the assembled crowd.

* * *

Eddie awoke in a cold sweat, his mouth contorting into an 'o' of horror.

"Jeff!" he whispered hoarsely before he realized that he was at the caves, and Jeff was nowhere in sight. He sat up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest, and saw that Michael was walking towards him, looking tired and unfocused. When Michael saw Eddie, however, he snapped to attention.

"Hey, man!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "You all right? Shit, you all right?"

"Yeah," Eddie muttered, confused. He looked down at himself. He was shirtless, and there was a clean white bandage on his chest. He tried to remember going to the caves, but the last thing he could remember was the look in Jeff's eyes as he had driven the knife through him. He had thought he was going to die, then, and he had looked at Jeff, trying to ask him why. He still didn't know why.

"Jack went down to the beach for a while," Michael said awkwardly, obviously not sure of what to do in a situation like the one he was currently in. "He'll…uh…be back in a little bit, all right?"

"Yeah," Eddie said distractedly. "Where's Jeff?"

There was a long pause, in which Michael looked at Eddie, then down at the ground, then back at Eddie, and then back towards the path to the beach.

"Uh…he's dead, man," Michael said finally, apparently deciding that it would be better to just get it over with. "He fell on his knife when he was chasing after Scarlett."

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think back again. The smile flashed through his mind. It seemed so surreal. It seemed like a dream. Only he knew it wasn't a dream. Unless he was crazy, it wasn't a dream. And he didn't think he was crazy. Not yet, anyway. Jeff was the crazy one.

"Why was he chasing after Scarlett?" he asked, feeling that he should be asking questions.

"We don't know," Michael answered truthfully, sounding regretful that he couldn't help Eddie out anymore than that. "We just…we walked in and he was dead, and she was screaming from the other side of the caves."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, and Eddie knew that he was having the same problem; the images that just wouldn't go away.

"Shit," Eddie muttered, closing his eyes again and shaking his head in an unconscious imitation of Michael.

"Jeff _did _attack you, right?" Michael asked. Eddie paused, and then nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said regretfully. "He did."

"Alicia was insisting that Scarlett did it," Michael explained, looking like he was just barely refraining from spitting or rolling his eyes or performing some other show of disrespect.

"Why would she think that?" Eddie asked, confused. He couldn't think of anything that would give Alicia the idea. Granted, the whole 'falling on the knife' thing was a little fishy, but Eddie knew for a fact that it was Jeff who had attacked him. And why would Scarlett do that in the first place? She was busy watching over Boone, probably.

"We don't know," Michael said, shaking his head. "She took off towards the beach. I don't know exactly what she was planning on doing."

Eddie nodded and glanced back at the path to the beach. He had a feeling that whatever she was going to do, it wasn't going to be anything good. In fact, he was almost positive that it wouldn't be.


	74. The Greater Good Part 3

Wooooo, update

Tired

Not much time for words

Thanks to everyone who reviewed

**JimmyP: **hahaha well good thing I delayed my chapter a little bit so you had time to review! I saw Pirates 2 as well. It was really good lol (: Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**The Greater Good (3):** Funeral

"Jeff was a good man," Scarlett said, her tongue feeling weird around the words. Her brain wanted to refuse to say them, but her tongue stubbornly pressed on, and the result was something like her right hand fighting her left; no one could win because each subconsciously knew the others' next move. "He had a lot of friends, and he'll be missed by many people."

She looked down at the ground, feeling like Jack had a few minutes before; like she was somehow disgracing his name by saying good things about him, rather than protecting it. For a brief moment, she thought about telling the crowd the truth, but she thankfully didn't have to think about that for too long, because then someone began to shout.

"You fucking bitch!" Alicia screamed, stalking towards the crowd of mourners with her hair pulled back from her eyes in a weird way, giving her a crazed look. "You shouldn't be standing there. You killed him. You fucking killed him!"

She reached the edge of the crowd, and they parted to let her pass. It was either because they respected her or because they thought she was crazy. Scarlett was willing to bet that it was more the latter than it was the former.

"I didn't kill anyone," Scarlett said with a firmness that Jack admired and feared. He knew that just beneath that wall of hard stone was a softer one just waiting to crumble. He knew that one wrong word would set her off. One wrong movement and she would collapse. He positioned himself behind her in case he needed to help her somehow.

"I know you killed him," Alicia sobbed, clutching her arms to her chest as if afraid that they would take on minds of their own if she let them go. Scarlett glanced at Claire, who was cradling the baby in her arms. She looked at Kate and Sawyer, who were standing together and watching the sight with their eyes wide with surprise and something like horror. Sun was looking for Jin, who refused to look at her. And all the while Alicia kept walking towards her.

"I didn't kill him," Scarlett said with the same hardness, like she was hiding everything behind that hardness, praying that Alicia wouldn't see through it and see that she was as scared as she'd ever been. "Get away from me!"

Alicia was getting closer now, and Scarlett realized that the only way to end this was to crumple. She couldn't keep trying to be stony and hard and indifferent because that would just feed Alicia. That would just give her more reason to think that Scarlett had done it. So Scarlett let the wall fall down around her, and she let the dam break loose.

She fell to the ground, sobbing, and Jack quickly swooped down to protect her. Kate and Sawyer rushed forward as well. Alicia stopped advancing, and instead just stared Scarlett with scorn.

"Leave her alone," Kate pleaded. "She didn't kill anyone."

"If there's anyone who goddamned killed anyone, it was that stupid ass friend of yours," Sawyer exploded, forgetting that the rest of the beach surrounded them. "You know what he did to Scarlett. You know what he did to Eddie. You should be goddamned thankful that dumbass fell on his knife before he could do anything with it."

There was a shocked silence that met his words. Jack closed his eyes heavily. Someone in the crowd gasped. Alicia looked around wildly.

"That's not true," she sobbed, her grief breaking forth like a wave cresting on the shore. "It's not true. Jeff would never do anything like that. We'll ask Eddie when he wakes up. Eddie will know."

There was a long silence, and people started looking at the ground, as if afraid to meet her eyes. No one was very sure of what to think. Sayid stepped forward and looked them all in the eye.

"What Sawyer says is true," he said, earning a hard glance from Jack.. "Jeff attacked Scarlett at the caves, and he attacked Eddie in the trees. He was a sick man, and if he had not fallen on his knife, we probably would have been forced to kill him. I know that is not easy to accept, but there are some things that we must do. We must now bury him and move on."  
No one spoke for a long minute. Alicia gazed first at one semi-friend of hers, and then at another. They all looked away. The implications were clear; they didn't believe her. For a long moment, nobody said anything or did anything. Then, Alicia turned and walked away with her chin held high and quivering.

After she left, people stood with their heads down and their feet shuffling. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence. Finally, Scarlett stepped forward. The cross that she had made for her child was clutched tightly in her hand.

"What Sawyer and Sayid said was true," she said tremulously, trying hard to keep her voice under control. "Jeff attacked me in the woods the other day. He attacked Eddie last night. And last night he tried to attack me again. His death was an accident. He tripped, and he fell. I won't lie to you anymore and say that he was a good man. He was obviously a very disturbed man. We lay him to rest with the assurance that he can't hurt anyone else."

A few people in the crowd nodded. It was a very emotionless moment, and Scarlett almost felt sorry for Jeff, despite everything.

"Who's the cross for, honey?" Rose asked gently, her eyes wise and knowing. Scarlett looked down at the wooden cross in her hand. It looked quite pathetic, once she got right down to it. It was a pathetic finish to something that had been wonderful and frightening and awe-inspiring.

Everyone was waiting, she realized, looking at her with trepidation.

"I was pregnant," she said simply, looking up and meeting the eyes of the crowd. "I only found out a little while ago. I…I was terrified. I didn't want it. I guess because I was scared of what I was going to have to go through." She looked at Claire, who smiled sadly and held her baby tighter. "But time went by and I…I really wanted that baby. I thought maybe that was what I needed to make everything feel better. But last night, I had to risk my child to save Boone's life. So I did." She felt tears gathering behind her eyelids, and she closed her eyes brokenly. "The baby was barely a few months old, so there wasn't…there wasn't much of it there. But I can feel that it's gone, now."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack look down at the ground sadly.

"Scarlett…" Kate murmured sadly, as if trying to tell Scarlett that she didn't have to go any further if she didn't want to. But she did want to. She suddenly wanted everyone to realize what had happened.

"Boone's alive because of this baby," she said firmly. "Because I gave her to Boone. Because I gave her up. I made a cross for her, even though she…wasn't really there yet. Because I thought that I couldn't bury her without some kind of goodbye."

She was crying as she said that, and everyone gazed at her with sadness. Anyone who had doubted her involvement in Jeff's death before instantly regretted their thoughts.

Kate slipped her arm around Scarlett's shoulders, but suddenly Scarlett didn't need the comfort. She felt like she would be able to stand up on her own at last. She bent down and put the cross in the ground in between Joanna and Scott. Then, she turned and nodded to Jack. He nodded to Sayid and Hurley and Sawyer. They started covering Jeff's body with dirt as everyone watched on and knew very well that if things had been different, they would have been burying a very different member of their party.

"It was my fault," came a voice from behind all of them suddenly. Everyone turned and saw that it was Locke who was standing behind them. She felt something brush against her arm, and she looked over and saw that Shannon was standing beside her. She was looking at Locke with an expression that would turn the bravest man to stone. "We found a plane," Locke continued, either not noticing that everyone was staring at him with a mixture of anger and confusion. "A Beechcraft. In the jungle. It was lodged in the canopy so I…I would have gone up but I…my leg was hurt so he…there was a radio inside, and he thought he could…" he trailed off, looking a little lost. Jack was glaring at him, Shannon was glaring at him, and Scarlett was watching him with disappointment. Locke didn't know that they weren't burying Boone, Scarlett realized, but she wasn't going to be the one to tell him that. "Look…his weight must have made the plane shift, and then it fell, and…happened because he was trying to help us. He was a hero."

He stopped and looked at them with a touch of pride, as if the fact that Boone was a hero made what he did any better. There were equal looks of confusion and disgust; those that understood that he was talking about Boone were horrified that Locke was the cause. Those that thought he was talking about Jeff thought he was absolutely insane.

"Where were you?" Jack asked quietly, apparently deciding that Locke didn't need to know that it was Jeff under the tarp. Locke didn't say anything; just looked at the ground. "Where were you?" Jack asked again, starting to walk towards Locke. When Locke didn't answer him, he started running. "Where the hell were you, you son of a bitch?" He reached Locke and shoved him. Locke fell backwards and stared up at Jack with real fear. "What did you do to him?"

People started to rush forward, swarming the two men. Scarlett quickly lost sight of them.

"Wait, stop!" Sayid yelled.

"Hey!" Hurley shouted, trying to get their attention.

"Jack!" Kate screamed. "Jack!"

Scarlett started to push forward, and she saw that Shannon was following behind her. It was like Shannon didn't have Boone to follow around and leech off of, so she was following around the person closest to him. Part of her felt horrible for thinking that, but at the same time she just didn't care. She pushed through the crowd fiercely just in time to see that Jack had tackled Locke to the ground.

"What did you do to him?" Jack yelled. People continued shouting for Jack to stop, though no one was really rushing forward to stop him.

"Where were you?" Jack screamed. "You just left him to die! You lied to me!" Kate, Sawyer, and Charlie rushed forward finally, ripping Jack off of Locke and pulling him away. Jack struggled against them, but they pulled him back easily. "Where were you?" he screamed.

"Let him go," Scarlett said to Kate and Sawyer. They looked at her like he was crazy.

"Sweetcheeks, we ain't letting him go," Sawyer said shortly.

"Locke deserves whatever Jack gives him," Scarlett said painfully. Everyone was silent at that. Even Jack stopped struggling. Everyone knew that it was true. No one better than Jack. Miraculously, Scarlett's words seemed to calm him. He stared at Locke with hatred written on his features.

"Where were you?" he asked more calmly. Locke stared up at him from the ground, as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

"I…I…" he stuttered, but nothing would come out.

"You're lying to me," Jack shouted. Sawyer tightened his grip on Jack's arm.

"Tell him the truth," Scarlett said to Locke, her eyes boring into his. He stared at her helplessly, his eyes pleading with hers. She looked away, disappointed. "Your secrets are worth more than Boone's life?"

Her voice didn't carry very far. In fact, she wasn't really sure that anyone but Locke heard her. But that was all that was needed. Locke looked at her as if she had just slapped him in the face.

"Scarlett…" he started, sounding genuinely hurt.

"Boone's still alive," she said bitterly. "Jeff died last night. So did my baby. I gave too much blood to save Boone."

With that last bitter remark thrown in, she turned and walked away from Locke. She didn't realize that she was dizzy until she had already passed out.

* * *

Shannon sat on the beach, staring off into the ocean with a dazed expression. She could still see, in her mind, the way Scarlett had crumpled to the ground. She had looked like a tiny rag doll, too weak to stand. Like she had no bones in her body. For some reason that mental image stood out more than anything she had seen so far in the past few days; even more than the sight of Boone lying there so helplessly.

She didn't notice that Locke had sat next to her until he took in a small breath as preparation to speak. When she looked up at him, staring at him hollowly, his breath seemed to catch in his throat.

"This…this is his," he choked out finally, staring down at the backpack that he had laid in front of him. He handed if over to Shannon wordlessly. She had a feeling that that wasn't exactly how he had planned the speech. "You all could have told me that he's…he's okay."

"He's not okay," Shannon said harshly, turning and looking at him with sadness and hatred mixed into one emotion. "He's hurt. He could still die, Locke. Why did you lie?"

"I told you everything…" Locke started, but Shannon wasn't going to give him a chance to explain himself.

"No," she said. "You took off when Jack needed you. When Boone needed you. You left him to die, I think Jack said. And you did. You just…left. Why?"

"I don't know," Locke answered. Shannon wasn't sure if he was lying or not. After all, he had lied a lot that day. What were a few more? She looked down at the ground.

"Were you scared?" Shannon asked bitterly. "Were you scared that something would happen to him? That there would be a problem? Or were you just scared that someone would blame you?"

Locke was silent for a long moment, and Shannon looked up to see that he was staring at her silently.

"I don't know," he said again, slowly.

"Don't give me that," Shannon hissed, finally reaching her limit. "You know exactly goddamned well why you left him. I may not know it, but I know that you do. If you're hiding something, I swear to God, Jack will find out."

"I'm not hiding anything," Locke answered, but even then he sounded as if he may be doing just that. Shannon felt her head beginning to pound, and part of her just wanted to let it go. Another part of her, however, felt like she had to do it for Boone. As if being a bitch to Locke would make up for all the times she was a bitch to him.

"You could be telling the truth," she said slowly. "Or you could be lying. There's no way for me to know. But I know what Jack said, and I know what Scarlett said, and I know what everyone else has been saying. And that is that Boone said something to Jack that made it seem like you weren't telling the whole truth."

Locke showed no emotion at that, though Shannon swore she saw a little flinch. She couldn't say for sure, and she may have been imagining things, but it still gave her hope.

"Well, that's for them to say and me to disprove," Locke replied casually, even having the gall to give her a secret smile, as if they were sharing something more than animosity and his lovely quotes.

"Maybe," Shannon said in a voice that shot down any hope of him mending things with her. "But that doesn't mean they're wrong."

Locke didn't say anything. He just stared at the water for a few moments. He was wearing a smile on his face, but Shannon could clearly tell that he wasn't feeling the smile at all; like it was just there to convince himself or something.

"I have to go," he said after a few seconds of that. He rose to his feet slowly and looked down at her. "I hope you can forgive me one day. I'm sorry."

Locke turned and walked away, but Shannon remained where she was seated with Boone's bag of things in her lap. She stared down at it, thought about opening it, and then decided against it. She just stared at it instead, and wondered.

The fact that Locke had apologized seemed pretty fishy to her. He declared and supported his innocence, yet he apologized for something that he claimed he didn't do. So what did she believe?

One image that stuck out in her mind was the image of Jack rushing forward and screaming at Locke. He didn't look like he was faking it. And if Jack said that something was a lie, well, then who was a better judge? She knew that Jack was honorable and noble and all those other things, and he was probably the main reason that her brother was alive. Shouldn't she believe him over Locke?

* * *

Scarlett was sitting in the caves, her head in her hands. Jack approached her slowly, knowing that if something was wrong, then he should see what it was. Then again, he didn't want to interrupt her thinking-time, if that was all that was. He approached her nonetheless, and sat beside her.

She looked up when he sat down, and he saw that her eyes were filled with tears.

"Scarlett?" he said with surprise.

"My baby," Scarlett whispered, clutching her stomach. "I gave it up."

"You didn't give anything up," Jack replied. "You did what you had to do to save Boone. You made a choice."

"I knew I was going to lose her," she said brokenly. "I knew she wasn't going to live, but I gave the baby anyway. I thought…I thought about what Locke said. About how if you give the island something, it gives you something in return. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I…I gave my baby."

"Scarlett, stop talking like this," Jack said evenly, slightly worried. She wasn't making any sense. "Look at me. Look at me, Scarlett. You quite possibly saved Boone's life last night. And you made the greatest sacrifice any woman can ever make. No one should have to make the choice that you made. No one. But you didn't _give _the island anything. You didn't give _anyone_ anything. You just did what you had to do."

"I know I did what I had to do," Scarlett said bitterly. "But even when I felt dizzy, like I was going to pass out, I didn't say anything."

"I know," Jack said quietly. "You were determined to give him as much as he needed. And right now, if you could, would you have changed anything at all."

Scarlett looked down at the ground, crying even harder.

"No," she said bitterly. "And that's the part that kills me."

Jack watched her and found that he didn't know what to say.

* * *

Claire made her way up to the caves with her son. Kate and Charlie hovered after her like nervous hummingbirds.

"Are you tired?" Charlie asked. "Do you want to rest?"

"I'm fine, Charlie," Claire replied automatically for the thousandth time. "Not tired at all."

"Are you sure?" Kate asked skeptically. She had become nearly as bad as Charlie; always worrying about her and the baby. It had only been less than a day but already it had become tiring and bothersome. She was beginning to regret ever meeting Thomas.

She certainly didn't regret her child, however. Having the baby had definitely been one of the most gratifying moments in her entire life. Looking down at him with his tiny hands and his toothless gums, she felt happier than she ever had. It was like a whole new world was opening in front of her. She had never really considered what would happen to her once she became a mother. She had been so concerned with getting there that she hadn't even looked at what she was going to be able to do. She was able to hold that baby in her arms and know that at least half of it was hers. That at least some of her was in that child. It was some sort of wonder that she was sure every mother felt, but it felt so real that she could scarcely believe it. Kate, watching her, felt certain sadness in knowing that she could never do that; that she could never be a mother.

"I'm sure," Claire said. Kate watched her sadly, then forced herself to stop thinking about it. It annoyed her immensely about herself that she could never be truly happy for anyone else because she was always thinking about how hard things were for her.

"All right," she said with a tired sigh. "If you insist."

"We should have waited until later," Charlie grumbled, squinting up at the little rays of light that actually managed to get past the canopy of trees. "This sun can't be good for the baby."

Claire actually laughed aloud at that one. Charlie didn't appear to have heard her.

"We're just trying to help, you know," Kate said gently to Claire. Claire smiled at her.

"I know," she said. "I just…you know…I'm not really used to anyone helping me out like this. It just feels too weird. I usually have to depend on myself. I have had to since before I can even remember."

Kate had never heard Claire speak at all about her past, so she listened intently, ready to hear whatever she wanted to say. But Claire didn't have anything else to say. She just left it at that. Kate sighed and followed her dutifully.

"Me too," she said gently. "I like to depend on myself. It's easier than trusting someone else. That way, if they don't come through, you're not disappointed."

"Exactly," Claire said, sighing heavily. "I know exactly how you feel."

"I think a lot of us on this island do," Kate said with a small laugh. "Everyone here seems to have some kind of a trust issue."

"Not me," Charlie said from behind them, stepping over a large clump of grass. "I don't have any trust issues at all. Not a one."

Kate and Claire both looked at him doubtfully.

"You seem like the type that would have a lot of repressed issues," Kate said craftily. "I know your type."

"I don't have a bloody type," Charlie muttered indignantly. He wasn't about to admit that she was right, and that he had many repressed trust issues from all that time with Liam and the band. He didn't need to tell either of them that, though, so he kept his mouth shut after that.

"I guess it's just a part of life," Claire said thoughtfully. The sunlight sprinkling through the trees fell on her contently smiling face, and Kate was reminded of a Renaissance angel. "It's kind of good that we're all here, then. We have to learn to trust people and get over that whole trust thing, or else we're not going to make it. Live together, die alone. Right?"

"Right," Kate said with a smile at the commonly used 'Jack-ism'. People thought it was a laugh to quote Jack. He had many good lines, and people used them in the most inappropriate situations. Jack, of course, was completely unaware of this. Kate had overheard a few rather funny conversations, but she always laughed into her hand and kept it to herself. She didn't think Jack would appreciate her laughing at a joke made at his expense.

They finally reached the caves without Claire swooning or tripping or hurting herself or the baby. Kate and Charlie let out a collective sigh of relief, and Claire laughed at them and shook her head. Then, she saw Scarlett sitting beside Boone, looking sadly down at his face. Claire noted that if there was anyone who needed someone to talk to, it was Scarlett. Her earlier qualms about Scarlett not wanting to talk to anyone proved completely wrong.

"Can you wait here for a sec?" she asked Kate and Charlie, knowing that they would without question. They both nodded and watched her walk over to Scarlett, looking comically worried that she was going to drop the baby or something. She just ignored them and focused on Scarlett.

When she reached Scarlett, she found that she didn't know what to say. She stood there for a few minutes, just holding the baby and staring down at her friend, wondering what the hell someone says to a person in a situation like the one they were currently in.

Fortunately, she didn't have to say anything. Scarlett glanced up and saw that Claire was just standing there, and she smiled gratefully.

"Claire," she said sweetly, immediately getting to her feet. "Oh my God, he's so beautiful!"

Claire smiled at Scarlett sadly and walked over to her, cradling her son with one arm and hugging Scarlett tightly around the neck with the other.

"I'm sorry you couldn't be there," she said gently, rather than saying she was sorry about Scarlett's own baby. She knew that Scarlett would know what she meant. There was no need to bring up things that didn't need to be brought up. Scarlett seemed to appreciate that.

"I was sorry I couldn't be there too," she said sadly. "I know I promised I would be…"

"Don't even start with that," Claire warned. "It's okay."

"Okay," Scarlett said, smiling. For once, she didn't argue, and Claire got the vibe that Scarlett simply didn't have the _energy _to argue.

"How are you?" Claire asked gently, her smile drooping and her eyes taking on a very serious glint.

"I'll be okay," Scarlett said with an equally soft tone. Claire nodded silently. She knew what that meant. That meant that Scarlett was far from okay, but she knew she was going to be okay eventually. And really, wasn't that all that she could hope for?

"Do you want to hold him?" Claire asked gently. Scarlett looked surprised for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay," she said, her tone implying that there was nothing in the world she wanted more. Claire held out her son. She was about to instruct Scarlett on how to hold him, but Scarlett handled him with the professional care that only a mother can have. When she noticed Claire's surprise, she grinned.

"My foster mother had a baby," she said. "Nattie. She was like my own baby. She was my hobby. I cared for her to keep my mind off of other things."

Claire smiled at Scarlett sadly and wondered not for the first time how a woman so lovely and friendly as Scarlett could be one with so much trouble under the surface. She remembered first setting eyes on her, as Scarlett took the seat next to her on the plane. She remembered the look of sadness in Scarlett's eyes as she stonily made conversation with her brother; remembered the way her shoulders were tense, like there was some invisible force holding her like that. She had been curious then, but now she was even more curious. How could someone so lovely have had a life that terrible? Claire had never been a very devout person when it came to religion, but she wondered that nothing had stepped in and prevented Scarlett's life from falling apart. She thought that maybe something should have stopped it from happening. It was so horrible to her that the good should suffer, while the bad got away with everything.

While Claire was thinking, Scarlett held her baby and stared into his large black eyes. He looked up at her, and his tiny mouth opened a little bit, and his eyes shone in the bright light. There was no magical miracle moment. The baby did not laugh or smile or do anything remotely comforting. He just opened his mouth. For some reason, that filled Scarlett with such sadness. She thought about the baby she could have been holding in her arms a few months down the road if only it was still within her. She thought of her daughter, no doubt looking more like Kevin than she liked, growing and eating and living in this world where there was no greed and there was no money and there was no war. She thought of the girl developing and getting older and learning about what things were like back where everyone lived.

But that was ridiculous, she told herself. They would certainly be rescued by then.

She didn't even realize that she didn't believe it.


	75. The Greater Good Part 4

It seems I'm always apologizing for the lack of updates, but once again I apologize. I've been playing softball a lot lately, and this weekend I had a tournament allll day Saturday and Sunday, so I had noo time to write at all.

I also must apologize because I'm going on vacation soon, and so for a little while at least, this will be my last update. Hopefully, though, I'll be able to get some writing done.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please review again

**Honey247:** hehehe thank you! You never know about Scarlett and Jack. That would certainly be an interesting love triangle, wouldn't it? ;) Thanks for reviewing and reading!

* * *

**The Greater Good (3): **Move Along

Jack walked towards Scarlett, his head and eyes drooping heavily. He saw that Claire, Kate, and Charlie were all with her, and he stopped abruptly, knowing that he should give them some time to talk. It would do Scarlett some good to be around her friends. Though he wasn't sure what type of effect Claire's baby might have on her, he was content to let them talk. Scarlett didn't look too distressed, at any rate. She actually looked happier than he had seen her all day. She was holding the baby and smiling down at it. For some reason, Jack found the image a particularly saddening one, and he looked away so he wouldn't have to watch it.

When he glanced the other way, he saw that Sayid was walking towards him, a troubled look on his face.

"Jack," he said simply. "I think that Locke is lying to us about where he and Boone were."

"I know," Jack said, shaking his head. "I've known he was lying from the beginning, Sayid."

"I know," Sayid said slowly. "But I am positive. I need to ask him some questions."

"Why does it matter?" Jack asked, growing admittedly slightly frustrated. "Why does everyone want to go after him? Boone is still alive."

"Yes," Sayid said roughly. "But Scarlett's child is not. Shannon was talking to me today, and she said that Scarlett gave her blood to save Boone, because he needed it. She gave up her child to help him because of something that John Locke did. We owe her the investigation. The child is dead, yes, but perhaps we can make Scarlett sleep a little easier at night knowing that it is not her fault that her child is gone."

"It isn't her fault that the child is gone no matter how you look at it," Jack said with frustration.

"But does she know that?" Sayid asked simply. Jack thought back to the conversation he had had with her earlier. He didn't say anything. Sayid correctly took that as a negative. "We need to talk to him."

"I know," Jack said with frustration. "What are you going to do?"

"Leave that up to me," Sayid said simply. "I will not use force unless it is absolutely necessary. Is there anything that Boone said that could help me get it out of him?"

Jack felt slightly sick, thinking about what Sayid might do to Locke.

"Look," he said quietly. "Why don't we just wait for Boone to wake up and ask him?"

"Because we need to know now," Sayid answered.

"No, we don't!" Jack exclaimed, surprising Michael, who was standing by Eddie. He lowered his voice a little. "We don't need to know _anything_ now. Nothing."

"How do you think Scarlett feels, Jack?" Sayid asked, sounding pained. "How do you think Shannon feels? Locke deserves anything that I give him."

Jack sighed heavily. He didn't agree with what Sayid was proposing to do, but he knew that he wasn't going to get the other man to change his mind. He had a feeling that nothing could change his mind at that point.

"I think that we can't just go jumping to conclusions like this," Jack said rationally. "We need to think things through and talk to Locke carefully. We can't just jump to torture."

"I told you that I was going to use force only if absolutely necessary," Sayid said, sounding annoyed. "Please, Jack. What did Boone say that made you think that Locke was lying?"

"He said something about a plane," Jack said. "A plane falling. Something about a hatch."

"A hatch in the plane?" Sayid asked. Jack shrugged.

"I don't know," he sad simply. Sayid nodded thoughtfully.

"Thank you, Jack," he said. "I promise you, I won't hurt him unless he refuses to cooperate."

Sayid turned and walked away, leaving Jack behind. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Comforting," he said to Sayid's retreating back. Sayid turned and smiled, and then continued walking.

Jack stood there for a few minutes, watching Sayid walk away. Then, he turned back to Scarlett. She was still sitting with Claire, but Charlie and Kate were nowhere to be found. He walked over quickly, smiling at them both.

"Hey," he said in the sunniest voice he could manage. Scarlett smiled at him, though there was no feeling behind it. Claire looked at him sadly. She was worried about Scarlett. That much was clear. Jack wondered if Scarlett had said anything to warrant that fear.

"I thought I'd bring the baby up to see Scarlett," Claire said gently.

"Have you thought of a name for him, yet?" Jack asked. Claire shook her head, looking mildly annoyed.

"No," she said. "I haven't really had the time to give it much thought. I'll think about it some more, though."

"Good," Jack said, thinking that it was a little strange that she hadn't really thought about it that much. "How are you feeling, Scarlett?"

Scarlett shrugged as if to say 'can't complain', but Jack knew that she just didn't want to say anything. He sighed sadly.

"Okay," he said gently. "You should go for a walk and try to get some fresh air."

He thought that that sounded like a stupid thing to say, considering everywhere they went was fresh air since there was no indoors, but Claire rolled with it.

"I could use some fresh air, myself," she said, smiling at Scarlett. "You want to?"

"Sure," Scarlett said, looking over at Boone as if to ask his permission. When he didn't say anything, she stood up.

"Let's go to the beach and maybe get Charlie to watch the baby, and we can have a swim," Claire said, the sunny smile still plastered on her face. "Does that sound like fun?"

Jack wanted to say that she was overdoing the whole treating-Scarlett-like-a-child thing, but Scarlett didn't appear to notice.

"Yeah," she said instead. "I haven't really been swimming in a while."

She smiled at Claire, but the smile was so pained that Jack winced. He knew the miscarriage was eating her up inside, but Scarlett was just the kind of person who wouldn't ever say anything about it. Jack knew from experience that keeping everything inside was not a good way to go. He made a mental note to talk to Scarlett about it later.

* * *

It was much later when Sayid reappeared.

"He is lying to me," he said to Jack decisively. "He took me to an airplane. He says that that is what Boone fell from. But when I asked him about the hatch, he said he did not know what Boone was talking about. He is lying."

Jack looked down at the ground for a moment.

"Did you ask him why he left and didn't tell me what had really happened?" he asked, looking back up at Sayid and looking pained.

"He said only that he had made a mistake," Sayid replied. Jack sighed heavily.

"Yeah," he said bitterly. "I'd say so. Where is he now?"

Sayid shrugged.

"I do not know," he said. "I left him to find you. How is Scarlett?"

"She's out at the beach with Claire," Jack said. "I thought she should get out of here."

"Shouldn't she be resting?"

"She wasn't doing any resting," Jack replied, shaking his head. "She was just sitting there, staring at Boone. I thought it would be better for her to get away."

"Smart," Sayid agreed, nodding. He glanced around the caves. "Have you seen Shannon?"

"I think she's at the beach too," Jack said. "I saw her leaving earlier."

"Thank you," Sayid said. Jack nodded. Sayid turned and walked towards the beach.

* * *

Scarlett, Claire, and Shannon were all lying on their stomachs watching the waves.

"I can't believe he just _lied_ about it," Shannon said for what was probably the fifth time in that hour. "Why would he do that?"

"No one knows," Claire replied, just as she always had.

"I wish I could kill him," Scarlett muttered.

"You could," Shannon said. She sounded serious.

"I wouldn't," Scarlett said, sighing.

"You have every right to, you know," Shannon remarked.

"I'm not a killer," Scarlett muttered.

Claire didn't join in the conversation. She just played with the baby's toes as he lay on the sand beside her.

"You don't have to be," Shannon shot back.

"I couldn't kill him," Scarlett said sadly. "As much as part of me wants to, I just couldn't do it."

Shannon nodded, looking disappointed. Scarlett looked out at the waves again.

"Doesn't mean I won't have a little talk with him, though," she muttered. Shannon smiled slightly.

"There's the Scarlett I know," she said.

Scarlett thought that was a pretty odd thing to say considering that Shannon hardly knew Scarlett. Then again, the serious tone that Shannon has used when suggesting that Scarlett kill Locke hadn't exactly been normal either.

"I wish I could just go back in time and just tell Boone not to go," Scarlett said. "I wish I had woken up just a few hours earlier and told him that I didn't want him going. It would have solved everything."

All three women sighed simultaneously.

"There's a lot of things in my life I wish I could take back," Claire said gently. She gazed at her son. "But sometimes down the road you stop wishing that."

Shannon and Scarlett both looked at the baby with equal looks of realization.

"Yeah," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "I never really thought of it like that before, but I guess that that makes sense."

They all stared at the baby for a few more minutes. He smiled with his toothless gums. Everyone smiled with him.

"Maybe," Shannon said sadly. "But I still wish that Locke had just told the truth."

"Yeah," Scarlett and Claire murmured with equally sad and thoughtful tones.

"It would have made things so much simpler," Shannon said. Claire and Scarlett uttered their agreement again. Then, they sat in silence.

* * *

A while later, Michael and Jin walked up sheepishly. Jin averted his eyes to the ground, determined not to look at the two barely-clad women in front of him. Claire was wearing a tank top, which may or may not have been adequate cover as far as Jin was concerned.

Michael looked Scarlett squarely in the eyes. He smiled nervously.

"Hey, Scarlett," he said. She smiled back, more out of pity than anything else. He looked so nervous.

"Hi," she said. "What's up?"

"Jin and I were wondering if you wanted to come help us with the raft," Michael answered, glancing at Jin. Jin grunted. They looked like two high school boys asking someone out on a date. Scarlett found that mental image amusing, and she smiled despite her sadness.

"Sure," she said. "I'd love to. Do you guys mind?"

"No, it's all right," Claire said. "I should be getting Aaron out of the sun, anyway."

"I should be sleeping," Shannon muttered. Everyone laughed nervously and went their separate ways. Before she left, Claire gave Scarlett a huge hug.

"Feel better, sweetie," she whispered in her ear. Scarlett smiled at her gratefully.

"Thanks," she whispered. "I'll try."

She watched Claire go with a heavy heart. For a moment, she thought for sure that she was going to burst into tears, but then she stopped herself. She had to pretend that she was okay, even if it wasn't even fooling herself.

* * *

After getting redressed, she walked with Michael and Jin over to the raft. Walt was already sitting there, watching them as they approached.

"Hi, Scarlett," he said cheerily. Scarlett suspected that he hadn't been told about the baby, and she wanted to keep it that way. It was good to have one person on the island to talk to who didn't have any idea of what had happened to her.

"Hey, Walt," she said as happily as she could. "How are you doing?"

"Better, now that I know that Boone's okay," Walt said with an innocent smile. "I was worried for him. For you, too."

Walt was full of surprises, Scarlett realized. One never knew what he was going to say next. It was always something far more profound than anyone expected. It wasn't necessarily very profound at all, but the fact that it had come from the ten year old boy who didn't have a care in the world was astonishing to Scarlett.

"Thanks for caring so much," she said to him with a smile. "But Boone's okay, now, so there's no cause to worry."

Not that that was anything certain, but Scarlett figured that there was no point in disillusioning him. Talking to Walt was like dealing with a clean slate. He didn't know anything, and there was no point in informing him of anything, either. So she just went with whatever it was that he thought, and she built it into something bright and happy that she could pretend was true.

Somehow, she knew that this was why Michael had brought her over.

"You don't have to do much if you don't want to," Michael said, further proving her little theory. "I just thought you'd like to get away for a little bit so you didn't, you know, have to talk about stuff."

"Definitely," Scarlett said with a smile. "Thank you."

She knew that Claire and Shannon meant well, and she had to admit that they did help her a little bit. But sometimes, Scarlett just liked to pretend that things hadn't happened. It was easy enough to pretend, after all. She wasn't physically scarred, and she didn't remember any of the process anyway on account of being unconscious the entire time due to the lack of blood that killed her child. It was easy to pretend that there had never even been a child at all. In fact, Jack couldn't have been sure. It could have just been a cold. He had said himself that he wasn't certain.

That was how Scarlett convinced herself that she was never pregnant at all. But if anyone could have seen what she was thinking, they all would have known that she didn't even believe herself.

* * *

Scarlett helped them a little bit, resting often due to the fact that she tired very easily. Walt was always eager to get her water or lead her over to the shade. Scarlett had a feeling that Walt and Michael had had a little talk about how he should be nice to Scarlett before she had gotten there. After a little while, Sawyer walked up, looking sheepish.

"Hey," he said to all of them. Michael and Scarlett replied, and Jin grunted his welcome. Walt just smiled. "Need any help?"

"Sure, Sawyer," Michael said, sounding surprised (and rightfully so; Sawyer _never _volunteered for work if he could help it). Sawyer wordlessly walked up to Jin and started helping him hammer some wood on. Michael glanced at Scarlett and nodded towards Sawyer as if to say 'take a look at this guy'. Scarlett smiled and looked over at Sawyer. She knew he was doing it to be around her. He didn't have to say it (and he most certainly would not say it unless she held a gun to her head) but she knew nonetheless.

"You wanna go cut us some wood?" Michael asked Sawyer. Sawyer grinned.

"Sure thing, Han," he said. "Hell, I love cutting wood."

"I know you do," Michael said with a chuckle despite himself. It seemed that no matter how testy Sawyer got, at times he was lovable enough for everyone to overlook that. Even Jack, occasionally. Very occasionally.

Sawyer hauled the axe over his shoulder and took off for the trees, looking like a kid running towards his Christmas presents.

"I swear, sometimes the red neck instincts just overwhelm that man," Michael said, shaking his head. Scarlett laughed, and it didn't sound forced. She glanced at Michael and she saw that there was a bright smile lighting up her entire face. She grinned to herself. Michael was a wonderful man.

"How much weight can this hold?" Walt asked curiously, like young kids often do, out of the blue.

"I don't know," Michael answered, shrugging. "A lot. Enough."

Jin grunted something in Korean to Michael.

"Yeah, yeah," Michael said, nodding. "Tighter. Got it."

Jin nodded satisfactorily.

"What if it tips over?" Walt asked.

"It won't," Michael replied. "That's why we made it this wide. There. That should do it." He turned to Jin. "Right? Good?"

Jin glanced at what Michael was doing and nodded.

"Good," he said.

"All right," Michael said happily. Jin smiled.

"What if a shark attacks?" Walt asked. Scarlett was beginning to remember what being around young kids a lot meant; an endless stream of all sorts of questions.

"Sharks aren't getting anywhere near us, man," Michael said with a chuckle. Walt looked down at the ground for a while, looking thoughtful and slightly frightened.

"What if we die?" he asked after a pause. Michael stopped working. Scarlett stopped working. Even Jin stopped working. Everyone stared at Walt.

"We are not gonna die," Michael said with a slightly frightening determination.

"Jeff died," Walt said simply. Michael stared at him again. Scarlett tried to wrack her brain for something to say, but nothing came up. After all, there was nothing she could say to reassure Walt that wouldn't be a lie. They _could _die. That was no secret. Anyone could die doing anything. It was a fact of life. But Walt didn't have to know that yet.

Fortunately, no one had to say anything. Charlie interrupted the moment by walking up with Claire's baby in his arms. The baby was crying weakly.

"Hey, guys," he said to Michael and Scarlett. "Do you know anything about babies? I can't get this little guy to be quiet."

Scarlett thought that was kind of a cruel question to ask her just after she had had a miscarriage, but she knew that Charlie just wasn't thinking. He would realize it later and feel completely terrible and would probably run apologizing to her the second he realized it. The thought made Scarlett smile despite her sudden depression.

"Uh, walk with him," she heard Michael saying. "He'll calm down."

"Yeah, I tried that," Charlie muttered, looking frustrated. "Scarlett?"

"Walking helped for my little sister," Scarlett said, shrugging. Nattie wasn't really her sister, but Charlie didn't really need to know the details. "Burping…changing…maybe he's hungry?"

"He just ate," Charlie said, flushing a slightly red color. Scarlett smiled despite herself. Charlie clearly wasn't as ready for parenthood as he appeared to be. He saw Jin. "Hey, Jin! Have you seen Sun?"

"Huh?" Jin asked.

"Sun," Charlie said slowly. "I need some help with this baby."

Jin probably only understood 'Sun'. He shook his head, looking slightly pissed off. Scarlett felt bad for poor Sun. She knew that her friend was trying to get Jin to forgive her, but it didn't appear to be working. He still seemed as angry as he ever had.

"No," he said shortly, strengthening Scarlett's idea. Meanwhile, the baby wailed on in the background. It was almost comforting to hear. Scarlett felt like the island needed more babies crying.

Sawyer, however, apparently didn't agree. He walked up with a wince on his face as he carried a sheet of wood that he probably grabbed from some poor person's hut.

"Hey, Chucky," he said to Charlie sarcastically (though, really, what did Sawyer ever say that _wasn't_ sarcastic?). "Wanna keep that kid quiet? Baby Huey's like nails on a chalkboard."

When Sawyer finished speaking, everyone noticed that the baby had indeed stopped crying.

"Oh, there you go," Charlie muttered to the baby. He glanced at Sawyer, looking annoyed. "You happy now?"

Sawyer just slammed around some pieces of wood on the ground, probably with some purpose which Scarlett just wasn't seeing. The baby started crying again.

"I was," Sawyer growled. The baby stopped crying. "If you're gonna play nursemaid, at least do the damn job."

Charlie looked down at the baby with wonder. He baby stared up at Charlie with wide, baby eyes. Scarlett laughed aloud with amazement. Out of anything that would settle down the baby and make him stop crying, Sawyer's voice was probably the last thing anyone would have thought of.

"Hey," Charlie said hopefully. "Hey, say something else." The baby started crying. "Just say something. Say anything."

"Okay, fine," Sawyer relented. "I liked that thing a lot better inside than I like it outside." The baby stopped crying. Michael and Jin were watching the scene in front of them with amusement written on their faces as well, but Sawyer didn't appear to realize what was going on. He started walking away. Charlie followed after him quickly. Sawyer turned when he heard Charlie, and glared at him unhappily. "What?" he asked. Charlie didn't reply, but just followed Sawyer. Sawyer took off running, and Charlie followed after him.

Scarlett, Michael, Jin, and Walt all burst into laughter.

"Sawyer's voice?" Michael chuckled. "Looks like there's something wrong with the baby, after all."

Scarlett just laughed harder, tears gathering in her eyes. For the first time in what felt like a long while, they were tears of happiness.

"He's still running," Walt said joyfully. Everyone broke into fresh peals of laughter when they looked up and saw Sawyer running haphazardly across the beach, with Charlie tailing right behind him. Jin said something in Korean, laughing.

"Yeah, man," Michael chuckled. "Definitely."


	76. The Greater Good Part 5

Ah, I'm finally back from my little vacation. Oh joyyy. I came back to find out that my best friend had nearly died in a car accident. So I'm still a little phew and euphoric from him being okay.

Anyway, hope you liiike it

No time for individual reviews. I have 5 minutes.

But oo, last night I saw Pulse, and it reminded me of how much I miss Boone :(

The damned line tool isn't working, so I must use 'o'

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**The Greater Good (5): **Choices

It started raining much later on. Shannon approached Scarlett and asked her to come talk. She looked nervous, so Scarlett went with her. Whatever it was that Shannon wanted to talk about, it obviously wasn't anything good.

"I need your help," she said in a low and dangerous voice. She was dripping wet with rain, and she suddenly had bags under her eyes, which hadn't been there that morning.

"What do you need my help with?" Scarlett asked carefully.

"I want to kill him," Shannon replied. Scarlett knew that she was talking about John Locke.

"Shannon, think about this," Scarlett said calmly. It hadn't even been a day since she had wanted to do the exact same thing, but she had cooled off enough to realize that killing the man was not the answer at all. "We can't go killing him. Boone is okay. He's going to be fine."

"But he lied," Shannon growled. Scarlett found herself becoming slightly frightened of the younger woman.

"Yes," she said slowly. "He lied, and it was a horrible thing for him to do, but it turned out all right."

"Your baby is dead, Scarlett," Shannon exclaimed. "How is that all right?"

"It's not," Scarlett admitted. "But we can't just kill him for that."

"I wasn't there when Boone needed me the most," Shannon said angrily. "I should have been there, but I wasn't."  
"Shannon…" Scarlett tried to begin, but Shannon cut her off.

"No," she said. "Scarlett, listen to me. I should have been there, but I was off with Sayid having a wonderful time. While you were doing everything you could to save his life, I was doing nothing. I was making out on a beach somewhere with candles and a romantic dinner. You gave up your child. I gave up nothing. It made me realize that as long as I've known him, I've never given up anything for him. I've never done anything for him that required me to sacrifice even the smallest things. But he's _always_ been there for me. And I got to thinking, today, about what I could do for him, and I think that this is the answer. I think he'd want me to do it."

Scarlett was silent for a long moment, taking all that in. Most of that made sense, she admitted, but it didn't mean that she wanted to allow Shannon to kill Locke.

"Do you _really _think that's what he wants?" Scarlett asked. "Do you really think that he wants you to kill Locke? I know Boone, and I know that the last thing he would want is for you to kill someone for him."

Shannon looked down at the ground sadly. Apparently, she knew it was true.

"Can we at least go talk to him?" she asked in a hoarse voice. "Just…talk to him?"

"Okay," Scarlett said. She looked up at the sky. The clouds overhead were stormy and tumultuous. She sighed heavily. The last thing they needed was a thunderstorm. "Let's go find him, and let's talk to him."

"I know where he is," Shannon said, and she led the way into the trees.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jack walked over to the medical table and sat down on his perch on the log beside it. Eddie was awake and talking regularly, and it appeared that he would be completely fine. Boone was still sleeping, though he had awoken once and asked for Scarlett. When he was told that she was down at the beach, he smiled and fell back asleep. Both of them showed very good signs of improvement. Jack couldn't believe that they had made it out of that day mostly in one piece.

He rummaged through the junk to look for his necklace. He had been bending over Boone, and the key had kept brushing his face, so Jack had taken it off and left it on the table. He had put it right beside the peroxide bottle…but it wasn't there.

Jack frowned and glanced at everyone who was in the caves. Boone, Eddie, and Kate.

"Kate?" he called out. She glanced up and jogged towards him.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Where's the key to the gun case?" he asked sternly. She arched an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

"The key to the gun case," Jack hissed. "The one I wear around my neck. Where is it?"

Kate backed up a step at the anger in his voice.  
"Are you saying I _stole_ it?" she asked defensively.

"No," Jack said with a heavy sigh, though that was exactly what he had been insinuating. "But do you know where it is? It's important."

"I don't know where it is," Kate said. "Someone else must have taken it."

"It must have been Locke," Jack groaned.

"What must have been Locke?" Sayid asked, walking up to the two of them, looking refreshed and ready for action.

"Someone stole the key to the gun case," Kate said, folding her arms across her chest. Sayid's eyes widened slightly.

"I don't think it was Locke," he said. Jack and Kate glanced at one another, and followed Sayid as he ran off into the woods.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"How do you know he's even out here?" Scarlett asked. They had been trudging through the rainy forest for the past twenty minutes, and there had been no sign of Locke whatsoever.

"I followed him earlier," Shannon said. "I think I'm actually pretty good at this whole not-getting-lost thing. He should be right around here."

They stopped walking. Shannon cupped her hands to her mouth.

"Locke!" she shouted.

"Over here!" came the reply from nearby. Shannon jogged through the underbrush, and Scarlett followed reluctantly. Locke was sitting on a log in the forest, carving something out of wood. When he saw who it was, he dropped his carving and stood up, ready for an attack.

"We came to talk to you," Shannon said quietly. "Why did you lie?"

"I told you…it was a mistake," Locke said painfully. "I wasn't thinking."

"I don't know if I believe you," Shannon said darkly.

"What were you really doing when Boone got hurt?" Scarlett asked, finding herself getting angry now that she was in the moment. "It had something to do with your little obsession, didn't it?"

Locke looked at the ground and then nodded.

"I had a dream," he said. "About a yellow airplane crashing. A beechcraft. When I woke up, I thought it was a sign…we found the beechcraft…and I think you know the rest of the story."

"I do," Scarlett said with a slight snarl.

"What are you talking about?" Shannon asked. "What little obsession?"

"Nothing," Locke said before Scarlett could answer. He glared at Scarlett.

"Lying again," Shannon exclaimed. "Why do you keep lying? It only got people hurt, last time. Did you know that Scarlett was pregnant? You're directly responsible for the death of her child, you know. Because you lied."

"Shannon…" Scarlett muttered, trying to calm her down, but Shannon didn't want any of it.

"All of you think I'm just some joke," she said, her voice laden with heavy tears. "And maybe I am just some big joke, but I'm not an idiot. I know that whatever happened to my brother and to you, Scarlett, is completely his fault. Jack said so."

Suddenly, Shannon pulled out a gun.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sayid led the way through the trees. They had heard Shannon shouting, and there was no need to try to look for their footprints in the undergrowth. Suddenly, he slid to a halt. He had come to an opening in the trees. Shannon and Scarlett were standing facing Locke. Shannon had a gun pointed at him. Scarlett looked absolutely terrified.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded, her voice hysterical with fear and anger. "Shannon!"

"It doesn't matter where I got it," Shannon replied, her voice low and angry. She noticed Sayid, Jack, and Kate for the first time and looked at them with surprise.

"They don't believe me, Sayid," Locke said.

"Shannon, put the gun down," Scarlett begged, her eyes filling with frightened tears. "Please, Shannon."

"Shannon…" Sayid said calmly. "Shannon, please listen to me."

"He did it," Shannon said. "I know it. He lied to all of us."

She sounded half-crazed with anger, but it didn't seem to faze Sayid at all.

"You're not thinking rationally," he said with just as much calm as before. "You've never fired a gun before."

Shannon moved the gun close to Sayid and fired. Sayid and Scarlett both winced. Kate held out her hand to Scarlett and pulled her behind she and Jack. She didn't seem to realize that Scarlett wasn't the intended target.

"Shannon, stop this," Scarlett begged.

"Shannon, you don't want to do this," Sayid asserted.

"Yes," Shannon said coldly. "I do."

"If you do it, you can never take it back," Sayid reminded her. Shannon seemed to waver a little but, but then she pointed the gun straight back at Locke.

"What did you do to him?" she screamed.

"I told you it was an accident," Locke replied.

"Shannon…" Jack started, thinking that it was probably a good idea to finally put some of his speaking skills to use.

"Jack, you told me he was a liar," Shannon said.

"He _is_ a liar," Scarlett said, taking a few steps forward and looking at Shannon carefully. "He's a liar, but that doesn't mean he deserves to die, Shannon."

"Why not?" Shannon asked petulantly.

"How many times have you lied in your life, Shannon?" Scarlett asked. "I know I've lied a great deal. I'm sure a few times, your lies have gotten someone into some big trouble. I know mine have. So I think you need to stop this. I think you need to realize that, yeah, if Boone had died, then that would have been his fault, and maybe then I would be more inclined to agree with you. But as much as I want to see this man suffer, I don't think it's fair to do this to him. Boone's alive."

Shannon stared at Scarlett for a long moment, and then looked down at her gun.

"I don't care," she whispered painfully. "I just want to…" she glanced at Locke with a painful expression.

"I know," Scarlett whispered. "But Shannon, this isn't the way to help Boone. I know you think it is, but I think that you're a little too stressed out right now to really think it through. I may not know you that well, Shannon, but I know you're not a killer. If you do this, you'll regret it. I know you will."

Sayid had been creeping forward all while Scarlett was talking to Shannon, and he darted forward and took the gun from her hands. She stared at him blankly, and suddenly burst into tears. Sayid hurriedly hugged her. Kate did the same to Scarlett. Locke and Jack stared at each other. Locke looked accusing. Jack looked guilty. But neither of them looked apologetic. Scarlett detected that she was looking at the beginning of what would probably prove to be a very longstanding grudge between the two of them.

"Let's go back to the beach and talk," Sayid suggested gently. Shannon nodded. Sayid handed the gun to Jack on their way past. Jack took it and stared at it for a short while, then thrust it into his pocket and shook his head.

"Imagine what she would have done if Boone had died," he said offhand. Kate stared at him for a moment, and then shook her head, indicating that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to talk about. Jack nodded quickly, agreeing and turning and walking into the trees. Locke waited until he was gone, and then he walked up to Scarlett and Kate.

"Thank you," he said to Scarlett. She glared at him.

"I didn't do it for you," she said harshly. "I did it for Shannon. I know what it's like to regret something you did in the moment, and I didn't want her to have to live with that. I didn't do it for you."

She turned and walked quickly into the trees. Kate followed after her without a single glance backward for Locke. Locke stood in the clearing, looking around with a sudden sadness. He spent a lot of time alone, but he had never felt so lonely.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Scarlett found herself back at the caves with a blanket around her shoulders and a bottle of water in her hands. She sipped it delicately and watched Boone's sleeping form."He woke up and asked for you, you know," Jack said, smiling at her.

"Really?" Scarlett asked, admittedly slightly surprised. "What did he say?"

"Just wanted to know where you were," Jack replied, shrugging. "He seemed happy when I told him that you were down at the beach, but he didn't stay awake for much longer after that."

"Did he sound okay?" Scarlett asked. "Talking, I mean? Did he sound normal?"

"He sounded like he had never been sick a day of his life," Jack replied with a smile, and when he saw the happy grin on Scarlett's face, he knew that that was what she wanted to hear.

"I'm just glad he's alive," she said gently, gazing down at him and shaking her head. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me, and having him so close to being taken away was the worst feeling in the world."

"I know," Jack said gently. "What happened yesterday…" he trailed off and shook his head, smiling slightly at some private joke. "What happened yesterday was a miracle."

He shrugged as if to say 'there you have it'. Scarlett smiled thoughtfully and looked at him.

"I thought you didn't believe in miracles," she said teasingly.

"I didn't," Jack replied, smiling. "I do now."

Scarlett leaned into Jack, and he wrapped his arms around her, and they sat like that for a long while until the fire went out and it was time for Jack to go.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was the middle of the night. Scarlett wasn't sleeping. She knew she should be far more tired after not sleeping more than an hour for two days, but for some reason she just couldn't close her eyes for more than a moment. Instead, she sat up by the fire and watched Boone. The firelight danced across his face and made beautiful shadows, and she liked to watch them and him and think that it was the most beautiful sight she ever saw.

Then, his eyes opened.

"Scarlett?" he whispered, having the presence of mind to be quiet so early. Scarlett supposed that that _had _to be a good sign.

"Hey," she whispered in return, her eyes filling with tears and quickly spilling over the brim of her eyelashes. "How're you feeling?"

"So much better," Boone replied, smiling at her. She knew he was still in a lot of pain, but he wasn't going to admit that to her.

"I'm glad," she said, moving closer to him and kissing his forehead. "You made it, Boone."

"I know," Boone said sadly. He looked at her for a long while. "I heard what happened. I don't know how I heard it. I don't think I was awake, but I know."

"I know," Scarlett murmured. She looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett," Boone said painfully. Scarlett quickly shook her head, choking back sobs.

"It was my choice," she said firmly. "My choice. You had nothing to do with it."

"I shouldn't have gone out there," he said brokenly. "I should have stayed with you like I said I would. I thought I would be back within a few hours, and you were mad. I wasn't thinking…"

"It's not your fault," Scarlett said quickly, holding a finger to his lips to silence him. "It's not your fault. Boone, I did what I had to do for you because I chose to. I need you more than I need that baby. I need you more than I need anything. I would have given _anything _to make sure that you were okay."

Boone was silent at that.

Because, really, what was there to say?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Boone was asleep at last, and Scarlett was getting close. It seemed that all she needed was to talk to Boone before she was able to fall asleep. She was far more reassured than she had been, knowing that he was coherent and feeling better. She was certain, now, that he was going to be all right.

Sawyer sat down next to her before she even knew he had appeared.

"Looks like I missed the boy," he said, gesturing to Boone. "I heard from another one of us night owls that he was awake and talkin', and I wanted to come up here and see it for myself. Looks like I missed it, though."

"Hey, you'll get plenty more chances," Scarlett said with a happy smile.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Sawyer replied, giving her a pointed look. "You saved his life. If it wasn't for you, he would have been dead."

Scarlett thought about that for a little bit. If she had somehow managed to escape Anthony back in Sydney, which had been what she had wanted more than anything back there, then she never would have gotten on the plane, and she never would have been able to save Boone. She probably would have told her friends, when she found out about the crash, 'I was supposed to be on that flight', and they would all marvel together at her luck.

Only it wouldn't have been luck at all. And she never would have known that.

"It's weird to think about," she said simply to Sawyer, instead of explaining that sentiment to him. He nodded knowingly.

"It is," he said. He seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Is it wrong that I want to be here?" Scarlett asked. Sawyer looked at her silently for a few moments, gazing sadly.

"No," he said. "It ain't wrong. It's weird, don't get me wrong, but it's right for you to want it. I just want you to know that none of us is gonna let that asshole hurt you, when we get back. None of us is gonna let him touch you."

Scarlett smiled sadly and looked down at the ground.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"I mean what I say," Sawyer reminded her. "I don't break my promises, sweetcheeks. And I'm promisin' you. He ain't gonna get you when I'm around."

Scarlett felt tears coming to her eyes again, but she shoved them back down her throat and ignored the urge to cry.

"Thank you, Sawyer," she whispered, so he couldn't tell that she was crying.

"No problem," Sawyer said, smiling sadly at her. "Hell, you've done move for me than anyone in my whole damn life. I owe you." He paused. "But even if I didn't, I wouldn't let him touch you. You gave that boy far too many chances."

"Maybe I didn't give him enough," Scarlett said thoughtfully.

"Hey!" Sawyer exclaimed, surprising Scarlett. She jumped slightly and looked at him. "Don't go thinking that. Not at all. You gave that jackass more chances than he'd have deserved if he were Jesus fucking Christ himself. It was not your fault that he went bad, and it wasn't your fault that he was a jerk to you all those years. I just want you to know that."

That was probably the most intelligent thing that Sawyer had ever had, and the sweetest, and Scarlett hated him for it. She wanted to hate herself for what happened between she and Stephen, and Sawyer was making it all very hard for her. She wanted to think that it was her fault. She wasn't sure why, but somehow it felt like she had to feel that way.

She knew that Stephen was bad for her, and she knew that she had given him more chances than he deserved, just like Sawyer said. She had been too easy on him. She let him get away with everything. She had told a court of law that her mother's death was a suicide, just to protect him, even though she knew that her mother would never, ever do anything like that. Still, there would always be a part of her that loved him. She wasn't sure why, and she knew it was wrong as hell, but there would always be that tiny part. She could tell herself that she didn't love him anymore as long as she wanted to, but it would never be true. She knew that, now.

"I know," she said anyway, because she _did _know, even if part of her rejected the idea. "Thank you, Sawyer."

"Hey, just don't let anything build up in that head of yours," Sawyer said pointedly. "You need to talk, then talk about it. Don't try to hold it all inside. Trust me."

Sawyer ruffled her hair and then stood up.

"I'll talk to you later, Sox," he said. "Tell Boone I said hi."

He walked off, shoving his hands into his pockets, leaving Scarlett alone to her thoughts.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sayid walked up to Locke, his eyes narrowed.

"How are you?" he asked blandly.

"A little shook up, but nothing I can't handle," Locke replied with his grandfatherly smile.

"Good," Sayid said, nodding.

"I wanted to thank you for talking her out of it today," Locke said. "I don't know what got into her. I explained things to her on the beach, but she…"

"I don't know what came into her either," Sayid interrupted. "But I stopped her because I know you're probably our best hope of surviving here. It doesn't mean that I trust you. It doesn't mean that I forgive what you did. You did a terrible thing, and a fine young man almost died because of it. The unborn child of an amazing woman is dead. Take me to the hatch, John."

"Hatch?" Locke asked, confused. "I already showed you…"

"John," Sayid said in a warning tone. "No more lies.

Locke stared at Sayid, and Sayid stared at Locke.

Locke was trapped.


	77. Born To Run Part 1

Sorry about the lateness. I've been so busy this summer, and this past week has been hell and a half. God, I tried, but I just had soo much. Ugh. Well, here it is anyway. Enjoy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Born To Run (1): After**

Scarlett awoke in the caves, lying beside Boone's bed. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up painfully. She felt like she had only slept three hours, though she knew she had probably slept half the day away. She always felt like shit when she slept too long.

She heard someone walking over to her, and she saw that it was Kate.

"Hey," Kate said with a small smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," Scarlett said truthfully, managing a small smile.

"I'm glad," Kate said, smiling in return. She sat down next to Scarlett. "I was so scared for you, yesterday. I thought you were going to lose it."

"I almost did," Scarlett said with a small chuckle, which understandably held very little humor in it. "I was close."

"I know," Kate said. She draped her arm across Scarlett's shoulders and rested her head on Scarlett's shoulder. She had never really been a person to show physical affection to anyone other than lovers, but somehow she didn't mind with Scarlett. She thought that maybe it was the fact that they had been on the island for so long. Some of her preferences and thoughts from before the island had been changed considerably. "But you're okay now?"

"Not okay," Scarlett clarified. "But…better. I'm getting there."

"That's good," Kate said in an honest tone. "Really, Scarlett."

Scarlett didn't say anything to that, and instead she leaned her head against Kate's. They sat like that for a little while, their arms around each other, and they watched Boone sleeping. Each of them had their own thoughts about him, and each of them had their own thoughts about each other.

"Have you talked to Sawyer lately?" Scarlett asked suddenly. Kate shrugged and smiled bitterly.

"No," she said, trying to sound angry. Scarlett knew she wasn't imagining the sadness she heard in her friend's voice.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know," Kate said with a heavy sigh. Scarlett knew that she was lying.

"Kate," she said warningly. "Come on, tell me."

Kate sighed heavily and looked down at the ground for a moment, and then started to speak.

"I think I've been really mean to him lately," she said slowly. "Well, no, I _know_ I've been really mean to him lately. I've been talking about Jack, talking with Jack, and generally being all over Jack whenever he's around. And I don't know why I'm doing it either. I don't know if it's because I feel like I want him to be jealous or something. But at the same time, I'm glad I'm doing it, because sometimes I really hate him. He can be the biggest asshole on the planet, Sawyer."

"I know that," Scarlett said with a small little smirk. "But you know, he's not as bad as he pretends to be sometimes. Maybe that's just a way of testing you. You seem to have your own ways of testing _him_."

She looked at Kate pointedly. Kate sighed and sat up fully, pulling her head off of Scarlett's shoulder reluctantly.

"I don't know," she said. "I just…I wish that I didn't have to worry about this stuff out here. There's enough for us to be worrying about. I mean, the raft's almost done, and if we get rescued…"

She trailed off and shook her head.

"If we get rescued…?" Scarlett prompted, looking at Kate expectantly.

"Nothing," Kate muttered, quickly getting up. "I'll talk to you later."

Practically jogging, Kate made her way across the caves and down the path to the beach. Scarlett stared after her, puzzled. She wondered what Kate had meant, but she didn't have much time to wonder about it. A few moments later, Jack walked up. Either he hadn't seen Kate, or he was just pretending that he didn't notice her making a beeline for the trees, because he had a wide smile on his face.

"Hi, Scarlett," he said in the patient-doctor voice.

"Hey," Scarlett answered, shaking her head to rid it of worries about Kate. "He woke up last night and talked to me for a little while. He seemed all right."

"That's good," Jack said, his smile growing even bigger. "That's great news. Did he complain about pain or anything?"

"No," Scarlett said. "Though I think he was still in some pain. He wouldn't say anything even if he felt like he was being pushed through a cheese grater. You know Boone." She rolled her eyes affectionately.

"I do," Jack said, nodding seriously.

"He didn't give any signs of having too much pain though," Scarlett clarified. "He said he was feeling much better, and he wasn't moaning or groaning or having difficulty breathing."

"Thank God," Jack said with a heavy sigh. "Well, Scarlett, I don't know what to tell you other than I think Boone's going to be perfectly fine."

Scarlett smiled brightly and looked down at Boone.

"Thanks for everything, Jack," she said. "I can't believe I'm hearing that."

"I know," Jack said, sitting beside her. "Seems like we should be burying him. We would be, if it wasn't for you, you know."

"So I've been told," Scarlett said, looking at Jack with a painful smile. "I think you might have been able to save him without me, though."

"No, no," Jack said, shaking his head and chuckling dryly. "I'm not that good, Scarlett. It was all you. All you."

He looked at her intensely, and Scarlett was compelled to look away. But she didn't. She stared right back at her, and they did that for a few moments before finally they both looked down.

"I guess we'll never know what would have happened," Scarlett said to break the silence that followed. "But I don't think we really need to know. As long as he's okay."

"And he's okay," Jack said, smiling. "Well, he's going to be."

Scarlett smiled, and everything felt right.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I can't just go talk to her!" Sawyer exclaimed, looking down at the baby in his arms. "She doesn't like it when I do that. She's always pissed off about somethin' or other."

"I'm sure she likes it when you go over to her," Claire said pointedly as the baby cooed and looked up at Sawyer with his big, grave eyes. Sawyer sighed and glanced down the beach again. Kate was sitting by herself, looking out to the ocean.

"I don't think she does," Sawyer argued, sounding like a dejected little kid. "She doesn't act like it."

"Sometimes, a woman does one thing when she wants to do another," Claire said sagely. "Especially when that thing that she wants to do is something that scares her. I think Kate's scared of getting too involved with you, because she wants it so badly."

Sawyer looked up at Claire incredulously.

"What in the hell are you talking about, mamacita?" he asked. "Kate ain't scared of me."

"I didn't say that," Claire said, taking her baby from Sawyer's arms. Sawyer hadn't even noticed that the baby was asleep. "She's scared of what she _feels _for you, because she knows she shouldn't."

Claire put the baby in the crib that Locke had made for her.

"And why not?" Sawyer asked, offended.

"Because," Claire said, as if it were completely obvious. "Look at her options. You or Jack. A sophisticated, sensitive doctor, or you."

"Thanks," Sawyer muttered.

"I'm not saying anything," Claire said, holding up a hand. "I'm just mentioning, maybe Kate's scared because she knows she should feel something for Jack, but instead she's feeling something for you."

"Why would that be scary?" Sawyer asked. "I'd think she'd be thrilled that she don't feel nothin' for that tightass."

"Well, this is why I agreed to help you out," Claire said pointedly.

"Hey, I thought this was payment for the baby soothing," Sawyer said indignantly.

"It _was_," Claire admitted. "But then I realized how desperate this situation really is. You need some serious help, Sawyer. Scarlett pointed it out to me."

"Remind me to thank her," Sawyer said sarcastically. Claire smiled.

"I will," she said. "Now, look, you're having problems with Kate."

"Yeah, the problem being that she hates me," Sawyer lamented.

"No," Claire said, pointing at him. "The problem being that you don't know how to treat her."

"Pardon?" Sawyer asked her, starting to sound angry.

"Sawyer, you're a complete asshole to her," Claire said. Sawyer looked at her in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"You have your moments when you let yourself shine through, but for the most part, you just treat her like dirt. I think you're scared too. I think that you're scared that she hasn't fallen for you right away, and I think that you're scared of what this could become for the two of you."

Sawyer considered getting up and walking out right then, but something made him stay.

"What am I supposed to do about that?" he asked. Claire smiled.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kate had always like watching the waves in the ocean, but on that particular day she found herself wishing that she had someone to be with. For once in her life, she wanted to talk to someone. She wanted to tell someone exactly what it was that made her so solitary. She felt like she owed some of them an explanation. Particularly Scarlett, Sawyer, and Jack. Maybe not Jack.

She glanced over at Claire's tent. Claire and Sawyer had been holed up in there quite a lot in the past few days. Charlie said that Sawyer was reading to the baby. He didn't seem to jealous or offset by the fact that Claire and Sawyer were spending too much time together, but then again, Charlie was completely oblivious to almost everything. She wondered if Sawyer and Claire maybe had a thing going on. It would certainly explain all the time spent.

She watched them. Sawyer was looking upset about something, and Claire looked like she was trying to explain something. For once, Sawyer didn't look angry or sarcastic or snarky. He seemed more serious than Kate had ever seen him. She wondered what they were talking about.

She faced the ocean again, wishing that she could pick up all of her problems one by one and just throw them into the sea. She wished that she didn't have to carry them around with her wherever she went. It would make life so much easier if she could just forget about everything that had happened to her.

Jack had said, a long while ago, that everyone got a second life on the island. Everyone got a new start. She didn't think that that was very true. She hadn't been able to move on from her past any easier than she had been able to when she was back in Sydney, or in any of the other thousands of places that she had been. Everything that she did somehow related to what she had done. Everything that she said held a second meaning. She knew that she would never be healed until she was able to tell someone everything. She also knew that she could never do that.

She was sitting there thinking for a while when she heard someone walking up behind her. She turned and saw that it was Sawyer.

"Hey," he said with a small, sad smile. Kate glanced past him at Claire's tent and saw that Claire was trying to pretend that she wasn't watching.

"Hey," Kate replied. "Umm…yeah?"

Sawyer looked at her, confused for a second.

"I just came over to see if you wanted some company," he said.

Kate wanted to yell out that, yes, she wanted company indeed, and that Sawyer was welcome to stay. But part of her refused that, and part of her wanted him to go.

"If you want," she said, her tone disinterested. Sawyer sighed and sat down next to her.

"You feelin' all right?" he asked. She looked over at him, surprised at the sensitivity in his voice. She faltered for a few moments, trying to think of something to say to that.

"Not really," she admitted, trying to sound nonchalant. "Why, do I look it?"

"You look sad," Sawyer said. He looked down at the sand and ran a hand through the grains. Kate studied his face intently.

"What do you want?" she asked pointedly. "Why are you over here?"

"I just want to talk to you," Sawyer said, starting to get frustrated. "Is that a problem, darlin'?"

"Depends on if you have other motives," Kate said pointedly. Sawyer sighed and shook his head.

"Christ, I can't talk to anyone on this island without them thinking I want somethin'."

"Gee, I wonder why that is," Kate said innocently, looking at him pointedly. Sawyer sighed and didn't say anything to that. After a long moment, he stood up.

"Later," he muttered, and then he walked back towards Claire's tent. Claire looked disappointed. Sawyer shook his head, and Claire sighed heavily. Kate wondered exactly what was going on.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Boone opened his eyes and winced as the sunlight streamed brightly down through the trees. He groaned and tried to sit up before remembering that he wasn't supposed to be moving. He lifted his arm, which felt like a lead weight, and brushed his long hair out of his eyes. It felt like he was moving in slow motion, and he started to get a little dizzy just thinking about it.

Once he managed to focus his eyes, he saw that Scarlett was sitting with her back to him, talking to Jack. He realized that he could hear them dimly in the background, and he focused on listening.

"Right now, it's just the blood loss that's making him dizzy and unconscious," Jack said.

"But I thought I gave him enough blood," Scarlett protested, her voice panicky.

"You did, you did," Jack said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "But he was still hurt very badly, and he still lost a lot of blood."

Scarlett nodded slowly.

"But he'll be okay soon, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jack said. "I'll probably want him to stay in bed for a few days. I might have Sawyer and Michael or someone help you carry him down to the beach. I think it would do him some good to be out of such a cramped area. But you'll have to keep a really close eye on him."

"Of course," Scarlett said, nodding vehemently. "I will."

"I know you will," Jack said with a grin. He was silent for a few moments, and then his tone became serious. "Shannon is still convinced that Locke is the cause of everything."

"Locke _was _the cause of everything," Scarlett said pointedly. Boone opened his mouth to protest, but Scarlett wasn't finished. "He left Boone here and lied to us about what happened. Boone could have died because he was too proud to tell us the truth."

Boone felt betrayed. Locke had left him? He didn't know why, and he didn't know where Locke had gone, but just hearing Scarlett's words filled his blood with rage.

"I know," Jack said soothingly. "But the fact of the matter is that Boone _is _alive, thanks to you especially. But Shannon is convinced that Locke is completely evil and needs to be dealt with. She tried to convince Sayid this morning to torture him for information."

"Shannon's having some issues," Scarlett said slowly. Boone thought to himself that she sounded a lot like he did when he was trying to defend Shannon. "But it's nothing that won't work out."

"I know that," Jack said quickly. "She'll be fine once she sees that Boone is okay. But I just wanted you to maybe keep an eye on her, too, to make sure that she doesn't try anything else like that little stunt with the gun."

"Understood," Scarlett said, while Boone wondered what stunt they were talking about. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Jack said, glancing over at Boone. His eyes widened when he saw that Boone was awake. "Boone."

Scarlett turned to look at Boone, and her eyes lit up with happiness.

"Boone!" she exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Boone said, and it was true. He was already feeling a lot better. He was slightly nauseas, and some of the dizziness was stubbornly refusing to fade away, but other than that he was relatively pain-free. His chest hurt a little, but his leg had no problems. He thought that was odd considering that he had been sure he had broken it in the fall.

"That's good," Jack said, sighing heavily. "I'm gonna have Sawyer and Michael move you down to the beach today. Are you okay with that?"

"Completely," Boone said, chuckling slightly. "I could use the air."

Jack nodded.

"I know what you mean," he said. He turned to Scarlett.

"You need to keep him out of the sun. See if Sawyer will let you stay in his tent for a little while until you can make your own."

"Okay," Scarlett said, nodding quickly. "I'll see. I'm sure he will."

"Hopefully he's in a generous mood," Jack said with a wry smile. "I've got painkillers right here for you, Boone, which you can take with you…"

"No, that's fine," Boone said quickly. "I don't need them."

"You might be hurting pretty bad for the first few days," Jack said with concern. "It may not hurt yet, but that's because the meds aren't completely worn off yet. You're going to want these, later."

"Save them," Boone said simply, waving his heavy hand in the air. "Save them for someone else."

Jack nodded respectfully and put the painkillers back down on the table.

"Scarlett," he said, pointing for unneeded emphasis. "I want you to come with me down to the beach. I'll leave Sun to watch over Boone. Sawyer probably won't do it if I just ask him to. You'll persuade him to let us use the tent."

Scarlett knew that Sawyer would probably do it if Jack just mentioned Boone's name, but she didn't say anything. She knew that Jack wanted her to get some air, and he wanted her to take a walk. She had been holed up in the caves for almost a day, and it was time that she got out a little.

She glanced at Boone to make sure that it was okay. He nodded. She bent down and kissed his lips chastely.

"Hey, come on," Boone said, smiling at her. "Just because I'm sick, it doesn't mean I should get the stiff lips."

Scarlett smiled at him and kissed him a little deeper, then walked off with Jack towards the beach.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kate was still sitting on the beach long after Sawyer left her. It was relatively silent around her. Other than the crashing waves on the beach, the only other sounds were of Michael, Jin, and Sawyer building the raft with their helpers.

Kate glanced around. Once she made sure that there was no one watching her, she pulled the toy airplane out of her pocket and looked at it steadily. She ran her finger over the letters on the wing. She knew that number like the back of her own hand, and sometimes as she lay in bed, she would say it to herself to remind herself of what she had done.

She was just building up a fresh batch of teas when she heard someone behind her speak.

"Platinum," said the voice which could easily be recognized as Charlie.

Kate quickly hid the airplane. Charlie sat down beside her with his guitar in his hands.

"Platinum?" Kate asked, wondering what the hell Charlie was talking about.

"As in platinum record," Charlie replied, strumming his guitar merrily. "As in a million units sold. Now, DriveSHAFT's albums must have spiked when everybody found out that I died in some catastrophic plane disaster. But when I come back, alive, it's going to be insane."

He chuckled happily to himself and started playing.

"So you think that raft's going to work?" Kate asked casually, glancing at the raft.

"Of course it'll work!" Charlie said. "Look at that thing! That's not a raft!" Kate looked. "They built a sodding boat. And when they get picked up, the helicopters will come, making us ridiculously and eternally famous."

Kate's heart stopped when he said that. She had never thought of it that way, and it scared her to death knowing that at any moment, they could be rescued. If that raft was a success, then they would be looking for her, and they would find her, and she would be locked up. There was absolutely nothing in the world that she wanted less.

"What's the matter?" Charlie asked. "Don't you want to be famous?"

Before Kate could think of something to respond, they heard a voice shouting dimly in the background. Kate and Charlie both turned to watch as a man they both recognized as Leslie Arzt walked over to the crew working on the raft.

"What do you think's going on over there?" Kate asked Charlie, grateful for the change of subject.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Over by the boat, Jack and Scarlett stood beside Sawyer, watching Arzt pontificate his almighty knowledge.

"Man, I already told you," Michael said patiently. "We're gonna wait a few weeks. We don't wanna set sail right away. I wanna test this thing out. I want to make sure we have everything we need."

"And _I_ already told _you_ that that's not a good idea," Arzt said loudly.

"Can't we just wait a few goddamned weeks without you giving your goddamned opinion?" Sawyer asked angrily.

"Sure, you can absolutely wait a few weeks before you launch," Arzt said with false cheer. "I was just assuming you didn't want to die."

Michael, Walt, Scarlett, Jack, Sawyer, and Hurley all stared at Arzt like he was crazy.

"So…uh…when's the next time we can launch?" Michael asked, humoring him.

Arzt looked out at the water, and then back at Michael.

"Three…maybe four months," he said, shrugging.

"Come on," Sawyer groaned. "Even a weatherman on TV don't know what's going to happen."

Kate and Charlie stepped up to the group, looking concerned.

"Why are we listening to Arzt?" Sawyer asked, saying Arzt's name as if it were a terrible disease.

"Because I'm a doctor, and you are a hillbilly," Arzt shot back. Sawyer stared at him incredulously.

"You're a damn high school science teacher!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, Sawyer," Jack said warningly. "Just let the man talk."

Arzt looked at him gratefully and turned to face the assembled crowd.

"It's been raining every afternoon," he said, using hand gestures as if they were in one of his lower-level classes. "That means that we are on the cusp on monsoon season."

"Cusp?" Scarlett asked, biting back a giggle that threatened to rise despite the seriousness of the conversation. Arzt ignored her.

"Monsoon season is bad," he continued. He held up a stick with fabric on it, presumably to test the wind. "Now, the trade winds are blowing north right now. Shipping lanes are north, so north is exactly what you want to be."

"What's that mean?" Michael asked, shrugging.

"That means," Arzt said elaborately. "When the monsoon season hits, the trade winds are going to shift to the south. The raft goes with the wind. Can anyone tell me what is the only piece of land that's south of us?"

"Antartica," Jack offered, just like the suck-up high school student that they all knew he probably was at one point.

"That's right, Jack" Arzt said proudly. "Antarctica."

"So when do we have to leave?" Michael asked, looking a bit impatient.

Arzt mulled over that question for a few moments, and then turned back.

"Yesterday," he answered.

Everyone thought about that for a long moment, just standing there in silence. Arzt, satisfied that he had made his point, walked back down the beach wherever he had come from. Michael hurried off without another word, striding down the beach with purpose. Kate hurried after him after a pause. Sawyer and Jin started conferring in their own strange language of shouting at one another and waving their arms around. Jack and Scarlett turned to each other.

"I guess Sawyer and Michael won't be available," Scarlett said wryly.

"Available for what, dudes?" Hurley asked, walking up. Sayid was behind him. Scarlett and Jack looked at each other and smiled.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kate hurried after Michael, the gears turning in her head.

"So, obviously, you believe him?" she asked Michael once she had caught up with him.

"Arzt?" Michael asked, as if there would be anyone else that Kate would be talking about. "I don't know, but I'm not taking any chances."

"You think you'll be ready by tomorrow?" Kate asked conversationally, though anyone who was paying half a mind would know that she wanted something by the way she watched carefully for Michael's answer. She had never claimed to be a very good con woman.

"The man said not a day to waste," Michael said bitterly.

"Supplies all set?" Kate asked. "You got food, fresh water…"

"Look," Michael said, holding up his hands. "Kate, no offense, but I got work to do. Why the sudden interest?"

"Because I'm going with you," Kate said without missing a beat.

"Look, the raft's full," Michael replied. "We need four; we got four.

"Including Sawyer?" Kate asked pointedly.

"Including him," Michael said. "We needed the stuff he had, so he bought his way on."

"The first raft," Kate pointed out. She felt slightly bad about cheating Sawyer out of his spot on the raft, but she didn't care. As long as she didn't get locked up, she didn't have reason to care.

"You know," Michael said, beginning to get irritated. "I'm not going to get into semantics with you. I told the guy…"

"He doesn't even know how to sail," Kate pointed out viciously.

"And you do?" Michael asked. Kate knew she should probably tone it down a little, but part of her refused.

"I spent two summers crewing j-boats," she said proudly. "I know my way around a sailboat."

A lie, but it didn't really matter. She knew enough about sailboats to get by.

"Yeah, maybe so," Michael said, sounding like he really didn't give a shit. "But a deal's a deal. Sorry."

"You bringing Walt, too?" Kate asked, trying to sound subtle and completely failing in that department. Michael stopped and turned to look at Kate, his face stone. She quickly rushed to explain. "I'm just saying it's dangerous."

"I decide what's best for my boy," Michael practically spat, and Kate knew in that moment that she had lost any chance that she had of getting on that raft. "And right now, what's best for him is to get the hell off this island. The raft's full."

He stalked off down the beach, and Kate sighed heavily and walked aimlessly across the sand. She felt like throwing herself down into the sand and pouting, but she didn't think there would be anything to be gained from that. It certainly wouldn't make Michael want to give her the spot.

She tried to think of how she would go about doing that, but everything in her mind just came up with a complete blank. She sighed and put her head in her hands. She didn't know what she was going to do.


	78. Born To Run Part 2

God, I hate school. Seriously, with everything in me.

Anyway, new chapter!

My best friend/massive crush is coming to visit me from college in like 2.5 minutes. So, I have ZERO time!

Love love and more love for my reviewers!

**Born to Run (2): **Sabotage

Hurley and Scarlett maneuvered Boone's lift back to the beach, both of them with unhappy frowns on their faces. Sayid and Jack had vanished into the woods after telling Hurley and Scarlett that they'd be back in a few minutes. Neither Scarlett, Hurley, nor Boone wanted to wait any longer than they had to, so they had just started down without Sayid and Jack. It wasn't exactly the smartest idea that anyone had ever had.

"Really, I can walk," Boone insisted.

"You're whiter than Arzt's stomach, dude," Hurley said. "You're not walking. You'd fall."

"It's better than making you carry me all the way down," Boone said. "Really. I'm fine."

"We're carrying you," Scarlett said. She was straining hard, trying to keep Boone in the air, but she would never complain about it. Boone noticed but didn't say anything only because he knew it would make Scarlett mad. Hurley didn't notice. Hurley didn't notice many things.

"We're almost there, anyway," he said happily. "Pretty soon, you're gonna be breathing the fresh salt air which you love so much."

"And we'll be rescued really soon," Scarlett said automatically. "They're getting ready to launch the raft."

She nearly stopped in her tracks. Ever since maybe the second week of being stranded, she had completely lost hope of ever being rescued. And suddenly there was a chance. A very big chance indeed. Though she had been working on the raft for a while, she had never really realized what exactly it would mean. It was a shock to her system, knowing that they might actually be able to get off the island after all.

"You okay?" Boone asked, starting to sit up.

"Down," Scarlett ordered quickly. "Yeah. Sorry, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Do you really think the raft's going to work?" Boone asked. He seemed to have read Scarlett's mind once again. He was always doing that.

"I don't know," Scarlett admitted. "It might. I'm not completely sure or anything. But I mean…I guess it could. Michael seems to know what he's doing. And plus, it's the only shot we've got, right?"

"Amen," Hurley muttered. "I hope they find help fast. I'm starving."

Boone and Scarlett both smiled sympathetically at Hurley. Dimly in the distance, they were beginning to hear the crash of the waves upon the shore.

"How's Eddie, by the way?" Boone asked. "I forgot to ask about him. I heard about what happened and everything…"

"He's okay," Hurley said quickly, shaking his head subtly to indicate to Boone that that was not a smart subject to be discussing with Scarlett around. Scarlett didn't see the look, and Boone hastily changed the subject.

"Good," he said. "Looks like everything turned out all right. What about Locke? Where is he?"

"Who knows," Scarlett muttered bitterly. "Probably off being a coward somewhere else. What an asshole."

"I don't think he meant for me to get hurt," Boone said gently.

"I know he didn't," Scarlett said with a heavy sigh. "But I can't forgive him for just _leaving_ like that. I mean, I can understand leaving and then coming right back after he realized that it was wrong, but he was gone the entire night. He spent that night cowering somewhere in the jungle because he was too fucking afraid to grow a set of balls and go up to Jack and tell him that you found a plane in the middle of the jungle. I don't understand why that would be so hard to do, but it was apparently very hard for Locke. It was so hard that he would rather let you risk dying."

"Why would it matter, though?" Boone asked gently. "Why would it matter if he told you what happened to me or not?"

"Your leg was hurt very badly in the fall," Scarlett said. "Jack was treating it as if your leg had just been broken because you fell on it. But what really happened was that an airplane fell on you. Your leg could have been crushed. Jack would have never known. He just would have thought that it was broken. I don't really know what Jack was saying about it, but basically, it's important to know exactly what happened. And Locke couldn't give that because he was too busy running off to play with his little toy."

Boone gave Scarlett a warning look, and she sighed with exasperation.

"It's not going to be a secret anymore," Scarlett said. "Sayid's going after it, apparently. He wants Locke to tell him where it is."

"Where what is?" Hurley asked.

"You'll find out soon," Scarlett replied simply. Hurley knew from her tone that it was better if he didn't try to find out right away. He just kept walking.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Want to tell me where we're going, Sayid?" Jack asked irritably. "We really should be getting back to help Scarlett and Hurley."

"They can wait," Sayid answered. "I feel that it is better if you see this for yourself."

"You know, I'm not so sure that it is," Jack replied, stopping in his tracks. "Tell me why you brought me out here, or I'm going to turn around."

Before Sayid could answer, Locke's voice cut through the trees.

"He brought you out here because I asked him to," Locke said. The voice was behind them. Both of them turned around just as Locke stepped out from behind the trees. It was so clichéd and overdramatic that even Jack (the king of clichés and overdramatic gestures) scoffed a little. "I asked him not to tell you," Locke said. "I wanted you to have an open mind."

"Open mind about what?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow. Locke gestured for them to follow him. Sayid glanced at Jack quickly, and then walked after Locke. Jack, after a pause, followed. He knew that he should be getting back to moving Boone, but he knew that whatever it was, it was probably important.

Jack saw what they were going do. It was a big metal door encased in some stone fixture, with a moat dug all around it, presumably by Locke. Jack stared at it with shock. He had never seen anything like it, and he couldn't even begin to fathom what it must be.

"My God," he muttered. "What is this thing?"

"Exactly," Locke said. Jack looked at him. "I guess it's time we talked about this."

Jack looked back down at the hatch. Hadn't Boone mentioned a hatch? He had a feeling that he was about to get very, very angry with a certain Mr. John Locke for keeping certain things secret.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Kate was sitting in her tent making a fake ID. It was the first one that she had attempted making, and she hoped that she would not need to make another one. She was lost in her own world of thought and sadness, so she didn't hear Sawyer approaching until he was already there.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, surprised and a little annoyed. Kate quickly hid the supplies.

"Sorry?" she asked innocently.

"Don't give me the 'aw golly' eyes," Sawyer said with annoyance. Kate thought that that was a pretty accurate redneck description of what she was doing. "Michael just told me you were jockeying for my spot on the raft."

Kate shrugged, sighing with relief that he hadn't seen the ID and was just being selfish as usual.

"I was just asking some questions," she said casually. "He must have understood me."

She started to walk away, but Sawyer grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

"I know what you're doing," he said lowly, and then the fear was back again. The fear of discovery that would never fully go away.

"Yeah?" she asked, trying to sound casual though her breath caught in her throat a little.

"Yeah," Sawyer said simply. "Just like I know why you wanted that Haliburton case so bad. The one that belonged to the U.S. marshal who was flying with us? You were his prisoner."

Kate's heart pounded in her head. Sawyer knew. He knew everything. And he didn't sound like he was just bullshitting and making a guess. He sounded like he knew. She didn't know how he might have found out, but a million ways that he could have were running through her brain, and she felt like the ground was spinning beneath her.

"Let go of me!" she growled, pulling her arm away. She backed up a few steps, trying to quell the feeling that she was being hunted. That she was some kind of prey. _She _had to be the hunter.

"The only chance of running's getting on that raft, ain't it?" Sawyer said. Kate stared at him. He smirked and continued. "We get picked up by a ship, and they come back to rescue the rest of y'all, gonna be a nice big asterisk next to your name. Don't worry, puddin'. Your secret's safe with me. But just so you know, no way in hell you're getting my spot on that raft."

Kate continued staring at him. Did she deny the accusations? Or did she attack him and kill him so she could have her spot? She wasn't sure. Sawyer smirked again and started to walk away. She knew she couldn't just let him go thinking he had won. The competitive nature in Kate spoke firmly against that.

"Hey, Sawyer," she said. He turned around, and she glared. "I want your spot, I'll get your spot."

Then she turned and left, and Sawyer watched her walk away with a smile on her face.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Scarlett, Hurley, and Boone finally reached the beach, just as Scarlett was sure that she was about to pass out. They put him down easily onto the sand near the trees, well in the shade.

"We'll move you farther out on the beach tonight," Scarlett promised. "We might be able to move back to our old spot. I had Sawyer move all our stuff into our tent. It's been raining a lot apparently. Not that we'd know it over at the caves."

"Yeah," Boone said with a smile.

"Hold on a sec, dudes," Hurley said, jogging over to Michael and Jin.

"The Arzt guy, you know, the one you helped me move the first time we met?" Scarlett started.

"How could I forget?" Boone asked with a smile.

"Well, he told everyone that if they want to start heading north, basically they had to leave yesterday. So suddenly everyone's all panicking and trying to get it put together."

"Don't you want to be over there helping them?" Boone asked.

"I have other things to take care of," Scarlett reminded him sweetly. She sat down next to him on the sand. He looked at her for a long time, expressionless. "What?" she asked him self-consciously.

"I don't know," Boone said, shrugging. "I just…I'm glad I made it so I could, you know…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I know it sounds stupid, but for the first time in my life, I really _want _to live."

Scarlett didn't know what to say to that. She just smiled at him, and suddenly tears came to her eyes.

"Well, everything's going to be just _amazing_ now," she said. "Just wait and see. Everything's going to be _perfect_."

"Once I'm up and walking around, we can build that shelter that we've talked about building for about…forever."

"Hey, yeah we could. I have the design and everything, remember? Though if we're lucky, we might not even need to start building it."

"Yeah," Boone said with a smile. "Hopefully we'll be out of here by then."

He looked out at the ocean wistfully, and Scarlett wondered if he was thinking of anyone in particular. She wondered if there was someone like Stephen in his life, before she remembered that he _did _have a Stephen, and that Stephen was Shannon.

"Have you talked to Shannon, lately?" she asked.

"Not since before the accident," Boone replied, shrugging. "Why?"

"She was pretty upset," Scarlett said lamely. "I mean…well, obviously she was upset. That's a stupid thing to say. She tried to kill Locke, though. She stole a gun from the gun case and she actually tried to shoot him. Sayid stopped her though. We managed to talk her out of it last minute."

"Why did she try to shoot Locke?" Boone asked.

"Because it was his fault that you were hurt," Scarlett replied, shrugging because it was obvious. "Because he lied about what you two were doing, and he could have gotten you killed."

"I heard Jack talking about something like that when I woke up this morning," Boone admitted sheepishly. "I was a little angry when I heard what he had done."

"Only a little?" Scarlett asked. "I very seriously considered letting Shannon kill him."

Boone was silent for a moment, and then he looked at Scarlett lovingly.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Scarlett whispered in reply. Then, they sat in silence.

Nothing broke the silence for a long while. The birds were chirping quietly in the distance, the waves were crashing upon the shore, and far off they could hear someone singing. It was the absolute epitome of peace and contentment, and Scarlett had never felt better.

Suddenly, they heard someone shouting.

"Dad?" the voice called, and Scarlett recognized it as Walt. She looked to the raft automatically and saw that Walt was bent over Michael, who was sitting on the ground, clutching his stomach. "Dad?"

Michael said something that Scarlett couldn't hear from the distance she was at, and then Walt got up and ran into the woods. Scarlett got to her feet and stared at Michael for a few moments, surprised.

"What's wrong with him?" Boone asked.

"I don't know," Scarlett replied absently. "Hold on. I'll go see what it is. Don't move."

"As if I can," Boone muttered, but Scarlett was already jogging across the sand.

Scarlett reached Michael in record time, just ass Jin walked up to him, looking confused.

"Michael?" Scarlett asked, panicking as she fell to her knees beside her friend. "Michael, what's wrong?"

"Stomach," Michael groaned. He moaned something that Scarlett couldn't understand. She looked at Jin worriedly.

"Doctor?" Jin asked innocently.

"Did Walt go to get Jack?" Scarlett asked, figuring that that was Michael had told his son to do. Michael nodded.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Walt ran through the trees, screaming for help at the top of his lungs. He spotted Sun and Kate and ran over to them.

"I need help," he panted. "It's my dad."

"What's the matter?" Kate asked.

"His stomach is really bad," Walt said, knowing that that was a completely stupid thing to say, but not knowing what else he was _supposed _to say.

"Take him back to Michael," Kate said calmly to Sun. "I'll go get Jack."

Kate started running into the trees.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Shannon saw Boone lying on the stretcher on the beach, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling with blessed breath. She froze in the act of walking towards the path to the caves, and she slowly walked over to where he was lying.

"Boone?" she asked tentatively. Boone's eyes opened with surprise. When he saw who it was, he blinked a few times with surprise.

"Hey, Shan," he said simply. He was surprised when she started to cry. "Shan? Hey, what's wrong?"

"I thought you were dead," she sobbed, running a hand over her eyes. "I thought you were dead, Boone. What would I have done if I had come back, and you were gone? What could I have done? I couldn't have done anything. You would have been dead. Dead. Dead."

She collapsed on her knees beside the stretcher. Boone stared at her for a few moments, shocked into silence.

"Well…I'm okay, Shan," he said hopefully.

"Because of Scarlett," Shannon said mournfully, starting to cry anew. "Not because of me. Because I didn't even know you were hurt until it was too late for me to do anything. And at first, you know, I thought, well it's not my fault, because I can't run my life looking out for you. I thought, you know, I'm allowed to go out and do stuff if I want to. But then I realized that that was so fucking stupid. Because, like, you spent every moment checking up on me and making sure that I was okay. And every time I ever needed you, you were there for me. And every time I ever needed anything from you, you gave it to me. That was my chance to fix everything that I never did, and I wasn't even there. I wasn't even around. I feel like such a selfish bitch, Boone."

"You're not a selfish bitch," Boone said painfully. "You're not. You have the right to do whatever you want to with your life. How were you supposed to know I was going to get hurt? You can't just follow me all the time. There might be times when I'm going to get hurt, but there's nothing you're going to be able to do about it. But the important thing is that we're both okay."

"Yeah," Shannon muttered, looking away suddenly. She hurried to her feet. "I have to go. I'll…I'll see you around."

Wiping her eyes and looking embarrassed, Shannon hurried off into the trees.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Jack felt the metal of the hatch as he crouched on it. Sayid and Locke both crouched on the ground surrounding him.

"I can't believe this," Jack said, shaking his head.

"I know," Locke said simply. "I found it hard to believe, myself. But it's there. It's real."

"How long have you known about this?" Jack asked.

"Three weeks, give or take," Locke admitted automatically.

"Three weeks," Jack said simply. "You've been out here for three weeks digging this thing up, and you never told me about it?

"All due respect, Jack," Locke said. "But since when do I report to you?"

"All due respect, John," Jack said mockingly. "But you lied."

Locke smirked.

"How long did you have that case full of guns before you decided the rest of us needed to know? You used your best discretion; I used mine."

Jack refrained from telling Locke that he hadn't really had the guns for all that long before everyone knew about it. Also, he wanted to point out that the guns were hidden because they were a danger to the rest of the castaways, and he was pretty damn sure that a hatch in the middle of the jungle probably couldn't have been all that big of a deal.

"So how do we open it?" he asked instead.

Sayid looked at him incredulously.

"What?" he sputtered. "You want to open it?"

"Yeah," Jack said, shrugging. He stood up, and Sayid did as well.

"We should bury it," Sayid said vehemently. "I brought you here to talk him out of this insanity. Anything could be inside."

"Best case scenario, there's supplies," Jack said simply. "Worst case, we use it as a shelter."

"Actually, Jack," Sayid said with some annoyance. "I can think of much worse cases than that. You notice anything about this hatch? There's no handle. Could the reason for that be more obvious? Maybe it was never meant to be opened from the outside."

There was a short silence after that. Locke and Sayid both looked at each other, and then at Jack, as if looking at him for answers.

"I don't know," Jack said finally, exasperated. "I don't need this right now. I don't need to deal with this. Let's just let it sit here for a while, okay? We have other things to worry about, and bigger things to contend with right now."

Sayid sighed heavily. Very clearly, he wasn't convinced that there was anything bigger than the matter at hand. And, to be frankly honest with himself, Jack couldn't think of anything either. But he didn't want to make a rash decision. He had done too much of that as of late. He wanted to think things through before he did anything.

"Okay, Jack," Locke said sympathetically. Sayid felt like hitting him, but he restrained himself. But that didn't stop him from glaring at Locke angrily as Jack started to walk away. Locke just smiled and followed Jack. Sayid followed after them, annoyed. They hadn't gotten very far before they heard someone running through the trees towards them.

"Jack!" Kate's voice shouted somewhere in the jungle. Jack froze, confused. "Jack!" Kate yelled again. This time, she sounded more urgent.

"Yeah, over here," Jack yelled back. He started walking towards Kate's voice, but didn't have to go very far before Kate appeared through the foliage.

"It's Michael," Kate said quickly. "Something's wrong."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Scarlett gently moved Michael over to the shade of a tree and helped him lay out on a blanket.

"Don't move," she instructed him carefully. "Just stay there for a little bit, okay?"

Walt hung over her shoulder nervously. He had come back, panting, a few moments earlier.

"Is he going to be okay?" he asked.

"Probably," Scarlett said with an unwavering smile though inwardly her heart was breaking. She couldn't bring herself to say 'I don't know' to him. That would have been far too cruel. "We'll have to wait for Jack to come back to help him feel better."

"Yeah, right," Walt said quickly.

Jin looked at Scarlett knowingly. He may not have understood everything that Scarlett had said, but he understood enough that he was able to get that she was lying to please Walt. He nodded to show that he approved.

"I'll be right back," she promised the two of them. "Jin? Wait for Jack."

She hoped that Jin would be able to understand that much direction in English. She didn't stick around long enough to find out if he didn't. She just walked quickly over to where Boone was lying. He looked up at her with confusion.

"What's going on?" he asked. Scarlett picked up a bottle of water.

"I don't know," she said, sounding pained. "We don't fucking need this right now, though. I know that much."

"Is he cramping or something?"

"I don't think so," Scarlett said. "I know he's been working really hard, but he's been drinking a lot of water, too. So I don't think that's the problem. I'm hoping to God it isn't anything like…his appendix."

Boone shuddered involuntarily at _that _thought.

"Don't even say that," he said. Scarlett nodded.

"I have to go back and watch him," she said. "Jin won't be able to understand him if anything happens, and Walt will be too scared."

"Let me come too," Boone said, starting to stand up.

"No!" Scarlett exclaimed suddenly, pushing him down. "Babe, please don't. I'll be back as soon as Jack comes back. I promise."

She bent down and kissed him, and then hurried back over out of sight behind the raft. Boone sighed and lay back down.

"Babe," he said out loud. For some reason, he smiled, and then he closed his eyes and let the sounds of the waves wash over him.


	79. Born To Run Part 3

Schooool iss the death of me! SORRY!

Please review!

Thanks to those who did!

* * *

**Born To Run (3):** Who Did It?

When Scarlett got back to Michael, Jack was already there. He was with Jin, Locke, Walt, and Kate.

"Who's with Boone?" he asked.

"Boone's fine," Scarlett said simply. Jack didn't seem to care all that much, because he didn't question her any further. He just turned to Michael.

"What'd you eat today?" he asked. He reached for a water bottle, but Scarlett handed him the one she had gotten from her stash.

"It's colder," she said simply.

"Ah…fruit…fish…" Michael groaned. Jack wet a cloth with the water.

"Drinking enough water?" he asked pointedly.

"Two, three bottles," Michael replied.

"Where you getting that water from?" Jack asked. It was questions like that that reminded Scarlett why she had hated Jack so much when they first were on the island.

"The caves, like everybody else," Michael said, giving Jack a glare that said 'isn't that obvious?'.

"All right, listen, Michael," Jack said. "Just take it easy, okay?" He put a washcloth around Michael's neck. "You stay in the shade and try not to move too much, okay?"

Michael looked panicked. He tried to get up, but Jack stopped him.

"We have to launch that raft tomorrow," Michael said desperately. "We have to."

"I know. I know," Jack said. "I need you to lay back."

Michael reluctantly lay back down. Jack walked away. Scarlett, after a pause, followed. Locke followed as well, not deterred by the glare Scarlett shot him.

"Heat stroke?" Locke asked when he noticed that Jack was standing near the blue cooler near the boat site.

"No, he would have felt that coming on," Jack said.

"Who says he didn't?" Scarlett asked pointedly. Jack ignored her. Scarlett was really beginning to have to try had to remember why she was starting to like him.

"Bad fruit, maybe?" Locke asked. "Raw fish?"

"Michael and Jin are on the same diet," Jack said.

"As is everyone else," Scarlett muttered, but she didn't think anyone heard her.

"And Jin's fine," Locke said over her.

"Jin's fine," Jack agreed.

He started picking up the water bottles and going through them. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't see in the first couple.

"Whatever's making him sick metabolized fast," Jack said. Before Scarlett could ask what exactly he was looking for at the bottom of those water bottles. "It hit him quick, and it hit him hard." Scarlett, again, was wondering how he knew that.

"So you think it was the water?" Locke asked. Scarlett openly rolled her eyes.

"How would _water_ poison him?" she asked. "Obviously, if it was the water that made him sick, it was something that was put into the water. By someone else."

"No, I don't think it was the water," Jack said to Locke. He turned to Scarlett and nodded. "I think it was something in the water."

He held up the water bottle. There was some white powder on the bottle that could have been anything from cocaine to some herbal plant. In any case, it was a pretty safe bet that that had been Michael's water bottle earlier in the day.

Scarlett was done. She didn't care who put the powder in the water. She just wanted to go back to Boone with her clean, unpoisoned water, and take care of him so he could get better. She started to walk away. She saw Jack glance at her like he was surprised, but she just kept going.

"Scarlett, wait!" he exclaimed. She stopped in her tracks and stifled a sigh before turning around. Locke was respectfully walking the other way, and soon he was hidden by the raft. No one could see them. There was no one in sight down the beach.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'd prefer it if you kept things a little quiet for now," Jack said, leaning in close like he always did when he was telling one of his big, important 'Jack secrets'.

"Why?" Scarlett asked. "Everyone's going to find out eventually. Don't try to lie to them, Jack."

"I don't want everyone pointing their fingers at each other."

Scarlett sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Everything that happens, everyone's pointing their fingers at each other. Even if you tell everyone that Michael fell tripped and jabbed a fucking rock into his spleen, people are going to be wondering who pushed him. People aren't ever going to be satisfied just thinking that it was an accident. No one's ever going to believe that. Everyone loves a good conspiracy."

Jack sighed.

"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" he asked.

"I'm going to tell Boone," Scarlett said firmly. "And if anyone else asks me what's going on, I'll probably tell them too. Because I don't think everyone else should be lied to. Remember when I told you that I was sick of you and the other big six wandering around hiding things from everyone? I told you that I wanted in, but I thought you understood that I wanted things to change, too. You have to tell everyone what happened. And if you don't, then at least everyone I come in contact with will."

Jack stared at her for a moment, surprised and slightly betrayed.

"Scarlett, I'm only trying to help."

"I know, Jack," Scarlett said painfully. "But hiding isn't helping. Hiding is preventing the truth from coming out. Maybe one of them saw something but didn't think anything of it. Maybe someone overheard people talking about something suspicious. You tell them it's bad fish, not only are you going to find your fruit population seriously decreasing, but those little bits of evidence are going to move straight back to the corners of their minds, never to be used again. Meanwhile, the culprit would go free."

"I understand," Jack said simply. "I thought…"

He started to say something, but then stopped. He shook his head and laughed slightly as if to show that he felt like an idiot. Then, he turned and waked back towards the others and Michael. Scarlett walked back down the beach towards Boone.

"What's going on?" Boone asked, craning his neck to see past her as she blocked his view.

"I don't know," Scarlett answered automatically. She wanted to hit herself. "Well, I do know. Kind of. Jack thinks that someone poisoned the water that Michael was drinking. There was some white powder stuff in the bottom of one of the bottles. You know, there's going to be a hell of a riot if everyone finds out."

"He told you not to tell me, didn't he?" Boone asked with a smile.

"I bitched him out," Scarlett replied with an equally bright smirk. Boone laughed.

"That's my girl," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit beside him.

"You're damn right I am," Scarlett replied, kissing him gently. Boone sighed happily.

"And I am so goddamned lucky," he muttered, and he nestled his face into the crook of her neck. She smiled and put her hand on his head. She wondered not for the first time how she got so lucky.

* * *

A little while later, Scarlett left a now-sleeping Boone and headed over to where Michael was lying down. He had stopped groaning, but he also hadn't moved in a while, and Scarlett was admittedly a little worried for him.

"Hey," she said as she approached. She noticed that he had a washcloth over his eyes and hurried to clarify. "It's Scarlett."

"I figured," Michael said with a small laugh, though there wasn't much feeling behind the laughter. He winced painfully afterwards. "I'd know that voice anywhere. How's Boone doing?"

"He's sleeping," Scarlett said, looking back to where Boone was. She wasn't sure why, but she felt the incessant need to glance over there. Like he would get up and try to wander away if she didn't. But Boone was right where she had left him. "He's doing a lot better."

"Good, I'm glad," Michael said, and he really sounded like he did.

"How about you, Mike?" Scarlett asked sympathetically. "Feeling any better?"

"Not much," Michael admitted. "But a little bit."

"Where's Jack?" Scarlett asked.

"No idea," Michael admitted. "He took off a little while after everyone else left. Told me not to move, and to just shout if I needed anything. As if shouting hurts less than moving."

Scarlett smiled slightly at that.

"That's Jack," she said pointedly.

"Smart man, but…" Michael started. He didn't finish, though he looked like he was trying to think of the words to say about that.

"I know what you mean," Scarlett assured him. He saw Jack walking towards them. "He's headed this way, now. Probably to check up on you. Maybe he found out what happened."

She knew that Jack hadn't told Michael that it was probably poison that caused his cramps. After all, why would Jack find the need to inform a patient of what was wrong with them? Scarlett found herself annoyed at Jack again, though it had only been a few days of being completely and deeply grateful for him. She was still grateful, but she wasn't as much in the whole friend department. There was gratitude, and then there was going over the edge. Forcing herself to be friends with Jack would have definitely been going over that edge.

Jack smiled at both of them when he approached. Scarlett smiled back a little guiltily. She told herself that she had nothing to feel guilty about, that she had never really liked Jack to begin with and that she couldn't expect all her opinions to change just because he had saved Boone's life.

Except, that sounded bad even to her.

"Feeling any better?" Jack asked.

"Cramps are quieting down," Michael answered, shrugging. "As long as I don't move or, uh…or breathe."

Jack chuckled slightly and grabbed a water bottle, removing the wet towel from Michael's eyes. Michael looked around as if expecting to find things drastically changed. Scarlett glanced around as well. Everything seemed pretty much in order.

"Did you and Locke kiss and make up?" Michael asked. Scarlett glanced at Jack to see what his answer would be. His answer came in the form of a simple shake of the head. Michael nodded. "Good," he said.

He started to sit up and grab his water bottle from beside him, but Jack stopped him.

"No, Michael," he said.

"What?" Michael asked. Jack took Michael's water bottle from his hands and gave him another one. An unopened one. Scarlett rolled her eyes. Way to be obvious.

"Drink from that one," Jack said, giving Michael a pointed look. Scarlett sighed again. Another way to be completely and utterly obvious.

"Somebody did this to me?" Michael asked. Scarlett had enough. She walked away before she could hear Jack's answer or Michael's reaction.

* * *

Scarlett walked up to Boone, a smile on her face. She saw that he was still sleeping and dropped the act. She sighed and sat down beside him, looking down at his beautiful face and tracing the lines with her fingers.

She had been happy all day. She was very happy that Boone was okay, and she was even more happy that they were back on the beach. In fact, she was probably happier than she had ever been in her life. But there was still something in the back of her mind that was clouding everything over with a dark shade of gray.

Scarlett had always been really good at pushing things to the back of her mind. The first time she had done it had been when she had seen her mother sitting at the kitchen table with the blood on her face and on her hands. She had pushed it into the back of her mind. Since then, she pushed everything away. Her rape at the hands of her step-father, Stephen's abusiveness, her mother's death…everything.

On the island, it didn't change. When Anthony didn't turn up, she pushed it to the back of her mind because she didn't want to admit to herself that she was a little upset that he died. Joanna's death was pushed away because she didn't want to deal with that pain. Claire's disappearance was pushed away as best as it could, though that didn't ever truly leave.

Recently, however, things were being a little difficult going back. It was like she had used up all the room in the back of her mind, and things were starting to ooze back to the front.

First off had been her attack by Jeff. It had brought back memories of the rape. Recently, _that _had been haunting her as well as Jeff's attack and death. Losing her child brought back memories of losing Carrie. They both refused to retreat to the back.

And then there was Boone. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone, she told herself. But she wasn't so sure anymore. She felt something for him, that was true. But she wasn't sure what it was. It was strong, and it made her smile, swoon, and do all the things that love was supposed to make people do. But something had changed. Something was different now that her child was gone. She wasn't sure what it was. It scared her.

She looked down at Boone's face and felt a surge of hope. He wouldn't leave her. No matter how confused she got, he loved her. He would always be there for her. He was her best friend. He was everything she wanted in a man. Patient, understanding. Everything.

That was it.

She realized what it was.

She didn't love him because she didn't deserve him.

That killed her inside, and she got up and walked down the beach quickly before she could think more about it.

But it was true.

She couldn't escape that.

* * *

Jack was distractedly looking through medicine to see what was left when Kate walked into the caves. He sighed inwardly.

"How's Michae?" Kate asked subtly.

"He's gonna be fine," Jack replied, trying to send off the vibe that he was bust and therefore she should leave him alone.

Normally, Kate wanting to talk to him would have made him happy. Today, however, he wasn't too sure. He had been talking to Hurley and Locke a half hour or so before, and Hurley thought that maybe Kate had poisoned Michael. It seemed to coincide with the fact that Kate apparently was hassling Michael for a spot on the raft. Jack didn't want to believe what they said, but he knew if Kate said too much in the conversation, he was going to suspect her. He didn't want to suspect her. His senses were already unconsciously on alert.

"Somebody gonna be taking his place on the raft?" Kate asked. Jack closed his eyes and breathed out heavily through his mouth. _That _had been _exactly _what he was afraid of.

"I don't know," he said through clenched teeth. Alarm bells were ringing in his head. He was on high alert. He knew that she had something to do with it as sure as the sun would rise the next day, but he didn't know if he could accept that. But Kate, not realizing what was going on, kept going.

"Cus, you know, Dr. Arzt said that if they don't leave tomor…"

Jack turned around to face Kate. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Did you poison Michael, Kate?" he asked simply. Kate stared at him, and Jack could have sworn he saw fear in her eyes before it was quickly replaced with pure confusion.

"What?" she asked. Jack hated not knowing if the innocent tone was just an act. He wanted so badly to trust her.

"He's not sick," he said pointedly. "Someone did this."

They stared at each other for a long moment. They were both calculating, plotting, suspecting. Jack sure as hell was, and he knew without a doubt that she was, too. Kate broke the silence first.

"Do you really think I'm capable of that?" she asked. The line sounded rehearsed. Jack was disappointed.

"I don't know what you're capable of," he replied, shaking his head. Kate didn't give him another word. She just turned and walked away.

* * *

Scarlett was sitting near the waves when she sensed rather than saw someone sit beside her. She turned to see who it was and smiled sadly when she saw that it was Kate.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

Kate looked upset. It didn't take a mind reader to see that. She wondered if Kate would finally want to talk about it.

"Just…Jack problems," Kate said, waving her hand vaguely. She looked at Scarlett carefully. "You don't look too happy yourself."

"Me problems," Scarlett said with a sad laugh. Kate smiled sympathetically and drew her legs up to her chest, copying Scarlett's movements.

"You wanna talk?" Kate asked.

"I don't know," Scarlett answered honestly. "Part of me does, but part of me wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Well, how about you just start anywhere," Kate said. "Next thing that pops into your head."

"I don't deserve Boone," Scarlett blurted. Kate stared at her for a moment, surprised.

"What do you mean, you don't deserve him?" she asked, her tone suggesting that the very idea was ludicrous.

"He's perfect," Scarlett said mournfully. "I mean, everything he does. He would be there for me if I ran off into the jungle and tried to change my name to some weird tribal name and started eating raw fish. He'd probably follow me."

"He probably would," Kate said, smiling slightly at that. "But why is that a problem? It's about time you had a man in your life who would do that for you. I doubt Stephen would enjoy the idea of raw fish."

"That's the problem, though," Scarlett said. "I deserved Stephen. Me and Stephen deserved each other. Boone's just too…out of reach. I don't think he'd have even looked at me if we weren't stuck on an island together."

"Scarlett, that's not true," Kate said sadly. "I'm not going to try to convince you that you deserve every bit of happiness you have, because only you can convince yourself of that. And you will, eventually. I know you will. Scarlett, you are an amazing person. That's all there really is to say to that. And Boone knew what he was getting when he chose you. And he obviously liked it, because he's still with you."

"I'm just afraid that one day he'll wake up and realize that he's making a mistake," Scarlett said softly. "And I think I'm trying to convince myself that I don't love him. Because I'm so sure that he's going to end up leaving me that I'm already preparing myself for it."

"Don't do that," Kate cautioned. "I know a little something about men. Don't do that."

Scarlett sighed and shook her head.

"I don't want to," she said, sounding slightly pained. "I don't know _why _I do it. It's so stupid."

"Hey," Kate said, nudging Scarlett with her knee. "It could be worse. Boone's alive. Just focus on that."

Scarlett smiled slightly.

"Yeah," she said. "He's alive."

"And that's all because of you," Kate reminded her. "So don't tell me that you don't deserve him. Don't tell me that you don't deserve every bit of whatever you get. Tell yourself the truth, Scarlett."

Scarlett smiled sadly and turned to Kate.

"God," she said, hugging the other woman. "You always know exactly the right thing to say."

Kate shrugged with a smile.

"What can I say?" she asked. "When I was growing up, part of me wanted to be a psychologist. I love helping people understand what I see."

Scarlett smiled sadly at Kate as she pulled away.

"I wish I was as good as that as you are," she said. "Maybe then I could help you see what _I _see."

Kate smirked and looked down at the ground.

"I don't know what you see," she said. "But I highly doubt it's anything like what I see."

"Isn't that the whole point to having friends?" Scarlett asked. "To help you understand that you can never be as bad as you make yourself out to be?"

"Could be," Kate said, shrugging. "I've never had many friends. I wouldn't really know."

"I haven't either," Scarlett said thoughtfully. "But, _we_ are friends. And I'm telling you right now that whatever you think about yourself, you're about a thousand times better than that. A million, maybe. You are an amazing person. I just wish you could see that."

Kate sighed and looked down at the ground. She knew that Scarlett wasn't doing it on purpose, but she'd be damned if that wasn't one hell of a guilt trip.

"I wish I could too," she said quietly.

And then they sat in silence for a long while.


End file.
